All about us
by MeTheAnimeLover7
Summary: One night the villagers strike and decide to end the half-demon and his wife once it for all despite them saving them from Naraku. There's no moon and none of their friends are around. Coincidence? Or is this just a battle out of a war between humans and demons that have been smouldering and is about to finally break. POST-CANON. Multiple genres. InuKag. MirSan. Koga&Ayame.
1. Chapter 1

Yeah, so I know I already have one fanfic I owe to update, buuuuut, I've been having this idea in my head for a while and really wanted to give it a try…

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**Chapter 1**

**The hate and the innocent**

Inuyasha thought at the beginning that he was having a nightmare. He knew he rarely slept on his human nights even after Kagome returned after their 3-year separation. Yet, here he was in his home, _their_ home, surrounded by thick smoke and aggressive shouts could be heard from the outside of the hut. It was almost midnight.

"KILL THE HALF-BREED."

"DESTROY THE TAINTED MIKO."

"GET RID OF THE DEMON'S SPAWNS."

Having his senses dulled, Inuyasha didn't hear the silent angry mob until they were close enough to put in practice their evil plan. They moved fast and before Inuyasha could consider he heard something outside, he smelt the smoke. The villagers set his hut on fire. With him and Kagome inside and their 2-day born son, Kitaro*.

Before he had a chance to wake her up, Kagome stirred and asked sleepily, probably as confused as he was:

"Inuyasha, what's happening?"

Kitaro, woken by the increasing sounds, woke up and started crying and Kagome turned her attention to the little half-demon baby fussing while his nose was wrinkling and his ears were moving in high alert.

"Kagome, I think we need to leave this flat. And fast."

Kagome finally started to discern some of the noises from outside and her face was clouded by horror. She hugged her son to her body and starred into Inuyasha's golden eyes.

"Inuyasha, I…"

"I know you are still recovering after giving birth and your powers are useless against humans, so don't worry, I'll find a way to get us somehow out…" He tried to sound reassuring, but his voice was trembling.

_'DAMN! From the voices, they seem to be quite a lot of them, I wouldn't be able to fight them all and make sure Kagome makes it out. The fire is growing and…_'

**THUD.**

A rock made it in their house, barely missing Kagome's head. Inuyasha's heart skipped a beat as he launched himself on Kagome, protecting her from the new wave of stones.

"AAAAAA!" A high-pitched scream erupted, which only seemed to enthuse the angry mob outside into throwing more stones and feeding the growing blaze.

'_DAMN, I almost forgot about her_' Inuyasha cursed as he watched the little girl clinging to him and Kagome in fear.

Sango received a letter from her brother a few days ago. Kohaku had fallen for a girl from the new demon slayers village he had moved to. And since Sango was his only family member left (well and Kirara and now her husband Miroku and the kids), he wanted his sister to meet this girl and give them their blessing, so they can marry. Sango replied promptly that she was thrilled for her brother, but she will only leave after her friend gave birth. So, after Sango helped with the delivery of Kagome's firstborn, she left to visit her brother. However, Sango insisted on bringing their children (the twins and their brother) with them because she wanted to show them how a demon-slayer village look like (and while there, maybe teach them some skills), so Miroku joined as well. He couldn't let his wife with three little kids on the road. The next day after their friends departed, Kaede was called to help in the nearest village with a very ill patient, so she had to leave. Since she was old and could barely care for herself than another soul, she let young Rin in the care of Inuyasha and Kagome. After all, they could use some help with the newborn. Inuyasha protested initially because he knew his human night was approaching, but Rin's pleads that she didn't want to be left alone and his wife's encouragement to trust Rin, made him agree with the new arrangement.

So that's how Inuyasha ended in this life-threatening situation without any allies other than his brother who was no guarantee will come as he recently visited just before Kagome gave birth and he usually came after at least one or two weeks. For once in his life, Inuyasha hoped his brother would have been in the nearby, but he knew luck wasn't on his side that awful night.

"Inuyasha, we have to get out of here, the smoke's increasing and it will be hard to breath shortly" Kagome expressed her concern.

"Here, take my fire rat, I'll knock down the wall in the back and create a distraction in the front, while you, Kitaro and Rin should be able to run."

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Kagome shouted panicked and the baby began crying louder. "Do you want to be killed?! Come with us, there's no way I'm leaving you behind playing hero."

"Woman, LISTEN TO…OUCH!"

Inuyasha started rubbing his head and found something wet. Kagome and Rin left out a gasp as they saw blood on his hand.

"They hit you!" Rin exclaimed horrified.

Inuyasha was running out of time and now he was also hurt. Giving up on arguing with his wife, he put the fire rat on Kagome and ignored her protests about his own safety. Then Inuyasha knocked the back wall and tore it with Tessaiga. Finally creating a hole big enough for them to fit outside, he helped Kagome with the baby and Rin out. But unfortunately, it seems the villagers had some man around the hut too, so when they saw them try to escape, they called the others. They were surrounded.

Inuyasha realized they were about 30 people with torches, sticks and stones, looking angry and shouting blasphemies at them. Inuaysha acted quick and placed the Tessaiga as a barrier for Kagome and the children and he started fighting with them.

"INUYASHA NOOOO." Kagome screamed, but she found herself cornered by the villagers trying to break the barrier.

The baby was crying and Rin was screaming as well for Lord Sesshomaru.

Inuyasha fought his best, but he realized fast that he was outnumbered, so when he started to fill dizzy from the blood lost (he got injured by the villagers) he retreated inside the barrier. He managed to knock down quite a few of the villagers or inflict some pain, but more seem to be always coming. Like the whole village turned on them.

Inuyasha's mind became blurry and the last thing he remembered was hugging his wife in a last attempt to protect her and the children.

"I'm sorry I failed you…"

Inuyasha passed out and Kagome watched in horror as sword's barrier started to fad while at the same time their hut collapsed from the fire. The villagers cheered as the fire engulfed the barrier around the small family, covering it whole. They were too close to the hut not to have it fall on them.

"The ABOMINATIONS have been killed!" The villagers cheered.

They watched for another short time how the fire was eating whatever it was left of the hut. Then they put down the fire with the buckets they brought and carried water from the nearest river. The last thing they needed was that fire to grow through the forest and eat their huts in the village (Inuyasha and Kagome's hut was at the end of the village).

The villagers were just making their way back, when something vicious attacked them and murdered them in cold blood. It wasn't a swift, fast dead, but a slow one. Hits came out of nowhere, letting them howl in pain in the ground, watching as the others were hurt as well. Then one by one, got a final deadly blow and the path between the village and Inuyasha's hut was soaked in blood.

"Cowards…" Sesshomaru said as he studied his bloody claws with his expressionless face, yet his slow tremor in his hands betrayed his anger.

He was as usual, not too far from the village patrolling the lands, when he spotted a thick column of smoke rising. As he had nothing better to do, he left Jaken sleeping on Ah-un and made his way to it. By the time, he reached, he found his brother's house in pieces.

If there was something Sesshomaru couldn't stand, it was dishonourable cowards. He knew about his brother's weak nights, so he put two and two together and followed the villager's path. He was probably about half an hour late or so? He really didn't care about that as much as teaching those cowards a lesson. If someone should kill his HALF-brother, that should be him, so he took his anger on the filthy humans for taking his choice. Of course, for no other reasons. He hated his HALF-brother, yet he was intrigued and mildly curious to see his nephew. And this choice was also taken from him. And then there was his HALF-brother's wife. An interesting human, yet another waste because of some cowards.

Sesshomaru returned to the place and watched the remains of the hut. Before he went for the villagers, he felt something weird about the place, but upon blinding rage, he decided to come back afterwards. He approached the wood remains and noticed the weird feeling was caused by something tickling his senses. Like it was trying to burn him, hurt him.

"Useless…" He muttered and was just about to leave, when he made a U-turn and his eyes grew wide, probably the most expressive he's been in three years.

Sesshomaru approached were the weird feeling was coming and started digging with his bare hands despite the uneasy burn to his hands. He knew that feeling, he felt it before. It was what demons felt upon being purified. And he was right, after barely removing the damaged wood away, he found a small barrier, enough to protect someone lying on the ground. He removed the rest of the wood and then the barrier, faded, revealing his brother on top of his wife and unconscious baby.

"Please, save us…save them…" Kagome muttered weakly before she passed out, having used all her remaining energy to keep her family safe. Upon recognizing Sesshomaru's demonic aura, she finally gave in, hoping he'll help them.

'They're alive' Sesshomaru realized and then the air left his lungs because his smell registered the fourth smell. His eyes moved with horror and finally spotted HER.

Rin was lying unconscious, almost hidden under the fire rat and Kagome's protective embrace. Sesshomaru reached her and was relieved upon listening carefully to realize she was alive. Rin was well.

'WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE'. His mind raged but tried to focus on the people lying there.

His half-brother was the worse and there were still a couple of hours until dawn. The baby was unconscious, yet he was breathing, his father's blood keeping him alive and strong enough to overcome the previous events. His brother and his wife protected and managed to save Rin despite their situation. He owned them. Yes, he killed the villagers, but that didn't seem to be a paid debt in Sesshomaru's mind. And if there was something that he hated as much as dishonourable cowards, it was being in debt. To his brother. The brother that HE, the mighty Sesshomaru decides when he dies. And he decided that now it wasn't the time. Nor for him or his family.

* _Kitaro (name meaning) -happy boy_

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Not sure how well or unwell this turned, so lovely readers, please let me know in your comments. Was it angsty? Too rushed? Or you actually enjoy it?

Enjoy your weekend!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everyone! So,** thank you so much** for your reviews (both from fanfiction and Tumblr) and favourites and follows! Since there seems interest in this story, I decided to continue it. Sorry about the grammar, everyone makes mistakes, I'll try to make it readable and still enjoyable.

I'll maybe update it weekly? We'll see how busy I am, I won't make any promises. THANK YOU FOR GIVING THE STORY A TRY.

Also, the summary has been updated.

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Chapter 2: **Love is blind?**

"I'm sure you and Narumi will get along better once you get to know each other." Kohaku said in a reassuring yet nervous voice to his sister.

"I've heard enough from her to know she hates demons as much as she hates people affiliated with demons. Such as me and my family. It's a wonder she and her family haven't kicked you out of the village yet." Sango replied bitterly gently stroking Kirara's fur.

"Well, despite her hatred towards demons, she really loves me…"

"Is that why you stopped taking Kirara to your training? To change this girl's opinion on you?" Sango asked harshly.

"Well, no, I mean, well, YES!" Kohaku snapped the last word. "Her family would have never even given me a chance to be with her, yet move in their village. I didn't have a choice."

"Yes, you had, you could have always moved with us, come live in our village. Our village doesn't have a problem with living with demons." Sango stood up, gently moving Kirara aside and stared into her brother's heated eyes. Kohaku starred back ready to defend his ground.

"You already had a family, I wanted to make my own and you're missing the point. I. . And whether she likes demons or not won't affect my love for her."

"I already knew you were head over hills for her, but I didn't know she hated demons. What was the point in calling us here knowing something we didn't?!"

"I told you she doesn't like demons. She and her family wanted to give you a chance and see how demon slayers can live with demons, but obviously, this didn't work out as we planned."

"Hate and like are different words, Kohaku. And what do you mean a chance?! The demon slayers from the village surrounded us long before we reached the village and escorted us with swords there!" Sango shouted annoyed.

"It was a misunderstanding which we clarified as soon as you arrived."

"Misunderstanding?!" Sango snorted. "Is that what you thought it was?! Come on Kohaku, you're not dumb. You told them your sister with her husband and three children are coming accompanied by a demon. How many families with three small children and a demon pass by?! And the family also happens to have a demon slayer and a monk in. The least they could have done was confuse me with being part of the village due to my outfit!"

"I, oh, well, they've been in high alert, Narumi said they've been having spies back and forth between villages and they've been on high alert."

"Kohaku, you don't mean to tell me spies travel in families?"

"How would I know that?! Maybe…" Kohaku said sheepish suddenly looking at his feet.

"Kohaku stop, you know what you're saying makes no sense. And even if it would, how could you explain the dinner moment when they poisoned Kirara in front of us? Kirara was just eating, when all of a sudden, Narumi's father rose from the table with this weird powder and threw it in her direction. If the twins wouldn't have been running in front of her at that moment, Kirara could have been poisoned, never mind that my own kids could have been in danger. Thank goodness the powder is only harmful for demons!" Sango said furious, yet with a visible worry in her voice.

"I..I…I really didn't get a chance to talk with Narumi about that episode. I'm honestly glad the powder was only meant for demons. I'm…" Kohaku put his hands on his head and sighed. "Look Sango, I've never seen them act like this before. I mean, I do go on slaying missions with them and I know they're ruthless and merciless towards demons, but I didn't expect them to do something to my family. I'm truly sorry and I'll go ask Narumi about this. She loves me and I'm sure she'll clarify the situation." Kohaku turned around and was about to leave, but then he stopped and looked at Kirara. "I'm sorry…" Then he left because part of him knew his sister was right and he didn't have anything else to say not to make him look stupid.

Sango huffed annoyed and bit back her lip to stop the tears from falling. She had a bad feeling about this village. The kind of feeling she had when there were demons coming. Yet, those were definitely humans and very skilled slayers, but their presence made her uneasy.

She returned to the little campfire which was just outside the village where Miroku was guarding the sleeping kids. They've been pretty clueless about the whole situation and Miroku and Sango tried to maintain the situation this way. The last thing they needed was scared toddlers.

"Kohaku is so in love with this girl, that he doesn't make sense, nor understands the situation properly! He keeps on saying…"

"Sango my dear, you were at not even ten steps distance, I heard everything. I'm as upset as you are."

"Do you think we made the wrong decision about preferring to stay out here rather than inside the village in Kohaku's hut? I mean, I know it's summer and it's rather warm outside but…" Sango asked while looking at her children tugged under the extra blankets they brought.

"Not at all. When you stood up and said you're not letting Kirara outside the village by herself knowing what intentions those people have towards demons I fully supported you and joined you for your sake and Kirara's as much as for our children's. I don't like those villagers. Their aura seems dark, full of vengeance, yet, I am sure they are not controlled by a demon. It's their pure will."

"I feel the same. And thank you."

They looked hands and shared a kiss. Then they sat in silence thinking about their home and their friends. As if on cue, a familiar shadow appeared out of the nowhere, almost scaring them both.

"Koga?!"

Two other shadows appeared revealing his loyal friends.

"Shhh! We're too close, follow me!" Koga told them in a whisper.

"How do we know you're not some kind of disguised demon?" Miroku asked trying to read Koga's demonic aura, yet falling for some strange reason.

"I used to love and court Kagome. I fought with Inuyasha over a bag of chips which are from Kagome's strange world. Kagura slayed my old comrades and framed Inuyasha for it. Pick one, let's go, hurry." Koga said rolling his eyes, yet his voice wavered upon pronouncing Inuyasha and Kagome's names.

Miroku and Sango exchange a look and decided to believe this was indeed Koga. Kirara transformed and they placed the kids on her and followed Koga deeper into the woods.

"How come we didn't feel your presence?" Miroku asked still edgy about that.

"I learnt how to hide my aura. Plus, I got some magical talisman that helps me keep it hidden. I came to save you from this demon slayer village. We got to get away and fast. Not sure until the next patrols come, so let's move faster."

"What happened to the existing patrol?" Sango asked.

"We killed them." Hakkaku replied.

"WHAT?!"

"We can run and talk, FASTER!"

"Why did you kill those humans? And wait, my brother is still there, I can't just leave him."

"You have your family to worry and I'm sure he'll be fine, they only have a problem with demons. And about the killing part, we're past the knock down or hit and run part. It's killed or be killed."

"There must be another way." Sango argued and Miroku agreed.

"You wouldn't be saying this if you would know what I found out." Koga said in a low trembling voice, but managed to control his emotions. "You should thank your little fox friend, he's the reason I came to help you in case you were wondering how I knew about you."

"Shippo? How did you get into Shippo?" Sango asked.

Koga finally stopped and for the first time since they saw him, he finally seemed to relax, happy with the distance they put between them and the village.

"He came to us because he wasn't sure where the location of the village you went was. From his description, however we were able to identify it. There aren't that many demon slayers only villages at only two or less days of walking or well, in your case, some flying."

"So, Shippo was searching for us? Why? Did something happen?"

As the first light of sun broke, Miroku and Sango finally saw Koga's features better. His serious face seemed restrained as he was trying to control some hidden emotion. Yet, the traces of tears or dried tears were obvious. His fist kept clenching and unclenching.

"The fox demon came to our den sobbing uncontrollably. He asked for you two and asked for help to find you two and when we figured where you were and told him about those demon killers he started sobbing worse about how he's about to lose his other family too."

Sango started to shake and her eyes went wide. Her hand reached for Miroku, who also started to look pale.

"Koga, what happened?"

Koga looked into the sun's direction, trying to make the tears that started rolling down his cheeks fake. But by this point, everyone knew it was a failed attempt. Even himself.

"They killed them. The villagers killed Kagome and Inuyasha. The hut's been burnt down and their blood's smell is everywhere, yet it disappears any further from the hut, which means they didn't escape. I went after the people who've done it following their scent and that's when I discovered they were from the village. I wanted to kill them, but it seems Inuyasha's brother was there first and finished them off. Apparently, the girl he used to travel with was with Inuyasha and Kagome and they killed her too, so he probably killed them for that. I checked myself, but our friends probably burnt with the house, there's no trace left other than the sword and fading scents. They're gone…."

_*Narumi - Japanese word for "the roaring of the sea_. **Suggested by HarmonyFan14. Thank you :)**

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Again, thank you to everyone who took time to read this and especially to the people who also took time to comment:

**Compucles** I'm working on the grammar, thanks for the notice. Glad it's not so bad, hope it gets better for you. Thanks for giving it a try despite my grammar mistakes :)

**HarmonyFan14** Awww, thank you! Really glad you found it interesting and want to find out more 3. Sorry, you won't find more about our heroes until next chapter…hopefully ;-)

**saraharista36** Awww, thank you so much :) Hope you'll enjoy the upcoming chapters. I love multi-chapters, can't resist doing a long one rather than one-shots…

**Alannada** Aww, thanks :) Couldn't have just taken our heroes out ;-) Well, we'll see, but they would definitely not be happy.

Until next time (whenever that will be) ;-)


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone! **Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story**, I was really thrilled to see so many new reviews, so I decided to post today rather than the usual Sunday. Also, thank you to all the new followers and favourites, you all make me so happy and give me motivation to write more.

Special thank you to HarmonyFan14 for helping me edit this chapter. I was warned Inuyasha sounds a bit OCC, but bear in mind he went and is going through a LOT.

Also, just to let you know, **I'm writing in parallel what the other Inuyasha characters are doing as well**, so some events might happen at the same time as others or after certain ones. I'll try to remember to write a timeline of the main events that happened so far in the next update.

Hope you enjoy the new chapter. :)

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**Chapter 3: Brothers' weaknesses**

Inuyasha woke up at the first sunshine and bolted straight up, throwing what seemed to be a blanket from him (yet in his faded memory, that was debris from their hut). He transformed back and his demon blood started healing his wounds from the previous night.

"KAGOME!"

He immediately felt her scent and was relieved to find her next to him. Kagome was covered with a blanket and seemed in deep sleep. Inuyasha touched his forehead to hers and took a deep breath. He was relieved she was alive and, though her aura was very weak, she was ALIVE. Just alive. He would have thought everything had been indeed a dream, but he knew they weren't in their home. It looked like a cave…He suddenly froze: his son was not in his mother's arms like he remembered.

Inuyasha turned around following Kitaro's scent and felt his blood run cold when he saw him. His hands were suddenly sweaty and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

On the other side of the cave, looking with his usual expressionless face, was Sesshomaru and next to him, sleeping, was Rin, also covered with a blanket. And in his brother's arms was Kitaro bouncing his arms and legs and slightly twitching his ears on top of his silver hair. The baby's brown eyes, a perfect reflection of his mother's, were focused intently on the clawed hand that was just inches from his neck. One ear did seem to acknowledge his father's voice, yet he made no attempt to stop gazing at the clawed hand.

"Sesshomaru, I'm begging you, please leave him alone!" Inuyasha tried to shout but his voice came out almost strangled. He started approaching carefully, with his hands up in a peaceful gesture. At the same time, he was worried about leaving Kagome unattended behind, knowing very well his brother could speed behind in a matter of seconds and reach her. However, Inuyasha was afraid to move Kagome knowing very well that it would slow him down and then he wouldn't be able to fight. Inuyasha felt thorn between his wife and son, his ears slowly bending down in sadness and frustration.

Sesshomaru barely flinched or seemed to hear his brother's voice. He just moved his hand slightly back and then straight for the baby's neck. Inuyasha lounged horrified in a failed attempt to stop him as he knew he wasn't fast enough to reach, especially since his wounds were still healing. He felt his eyes stinging and stopped terrified just at his brother's knees. His horror suddenly changed into confusion as he met Sesshomaru's cold eyes.

"Is this the thank you I get from you for saving your family?" He asked with no emotion while his fingers were not slicing, but gently tickling Kitaro's neck. The baby seemed to enjoy it, trying to make use of his hands and stop the fingers. Yet, he was obviously failing, so he tried using his still toothless mouth instead and managed to successfully grab one of the fingers' knuckles. Kitaro's brow was knit in concentration and tried to keep biting it, in an attempt not to let go of his uncle's bent finger. In the end, he was satisfied with suckling on it and closed his eyes sleepy.

Inuyasha was at a loss of words. He knew his brother had a soft point for Rin and used to let Kohaku travel with him, but he didn't think he actually likes children.

"You should also be thanking you mate for still being alive. She managed not only to keep you protected from the fire and wood under her barrier, but she also closed most of your wounds to stop the bleeding. She'll probably be out for at least another day, she must have used a lot of power…" Sesshomaru added thoughtfully yet looking more uninterested than ever.

Inuyasha spared a look in Kagome's direction and thanked her. Then he turned to his brother.

"Thank you for saving us."

He didn't expect his brother to react in anyway, yet his reply was delivered as soon as he closed his mouth.

"Thank you for saving Rin…Why was she with you?"

Finally, a hint of curiosity was visible in Sesshomaru's eyes. And was that concern?

"Kaede needed to help someone from a different village and didn't want to take her along, so she left her with us. And of course, we would save her, this wasn't even her fault, they came for me…"

"You're not wrong, but that's not the main reason."

Inuyasha was surprised his brother was still talking. He didn't know him for the chatty type. Maybe Rin had rubbed on him.

"Can I have my son back, please?" Inuyasha asked.

Sesshomaru sighed annoyed and handed him the kid.

"Congratulations on your pup. He was strong enough to be the first one to wake up out of you all. He was sobbing and kicking, actually managed to land a good one on Jaken's face…" Sesshomaru smirked slightly and then changed back to his normal face adding "…so because his crying was becoming increasingly annoying, I had to take him and let him get used to my smell which was probably the most familiar thing aside from you two. He calmed down at some point and after he attempted biting me multiple times. He's been playing with my fingers ever since."

Inuyasha was listening intently, surprised to see his brother praising his son. He did smirk proudly upon hearing the boy had been trying to bite his uncle. However, Inuyasha felt the best once his son was securely in his arms. The baby also seemed content and was happily moving his uncontrollable hands and feet in his father's direction, fully awoken after being handed to his father.

"So, you don't mean to say you've been playing with him?" Inuyasha teased, back to his confident self now that his baby was with him.

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes.

"He was merely entertaining himself. Should have kept that pup, I knew you would start acting rude once you got it back. It was better having you pleading at my feet."

"Oh, sorry for insinuating you actually cared." Inuyasha said ironically and then added. "His name is Kitaro. And I'm surprised you didn't call him worthless half-breed. Actually, you haven't given me any names either. Are you actually my brother?"

"Stop being so insolent, or I'll have you by the throat in no time!" Sesshomaru snapped. "The reason you are still alive is because this Sesshomaru has plans that require you and your family alive. So, make yourself useful and tell me what happened. All the details including where the slayer and monk were as well. Or the little fox." Sesshomaru paused. "You didn't call me any names either."

"I promised Kagome I'll try not to swear or insult anyone in front of the kid. And Miroku made a bet that the kid's first word will be an insult, so I've been trying in the past 2 months to avoid foul language. Never mind that Kagome hits me or throws stuff at me if I accidentally do it…"

"Afraid of your own mate. Someone finally put you in place for your awful manners." Sesshomaru smirked, annoying Inuyasha.

"Oh, shut up and cut to the point. What do you need us for? I knew you wouldn't just save us for nothing. I'll tell you everything after."

"I'm making Rin my heir in order to place her under my official protection and I need someone to look after her and you two seem capable enough."

"You're what?!"

"A war is about to break between humans and demons and I am sure you'll prefer protecting your family rather than fighting out there."

"A WHAT?!"

"So, I appoint you and your mate guardians of my heir and instead I offer you my protection and loyalty during the war."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"I'm not giving you a choice. It's an order. Get used to it or be my guest and leave with your still recovering from injury family. Also, no one's coming after you. All your friends or other allies think for sure that you're dead since I flew you all from there. Your scents have been lost in the wind and the smell lingering around your hut remains is just blood. You have no one left than your little pup and mate right now and I'm offering you a safe option. I suggest you take it and stop overthinking with that half brain of yours."

"Bastard". Inuyasha muttered and Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow in the baby's direction. Inuyasha felt like punching his brother, yet he was still grateful they were all alive. Alive to fulfil his brother's plans though.

Inuyasha made no move still mulling over everything his brother just threw at him. He couldn't have just left with Kagome in that state and himself still recovering. Also, he was afraid Sesshomaru might actually fight him or, worse, try and take either Kitaro or Kagome as hostages. And, some corner of his mind was telling him the offer didn't sound so bad if a war was actually starting. Having his brother as an ally rather than enemy was something worth considering. Plus, he wanted to find out more about this seemingly approaching war.

"I thought so." Sesshomaru said in his usual monotone voice upon seeing Inuyasha make no move, but nodding in acknowledgement in his direction. "Now, how about we exchange some information like 'good allies', _brother_?"

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**Thank you for your time reading this chapter**. Things are starting to come together. Please excuse any grammar mistakes, I'm trying to avoid them as much as possible.

Thank you especially to those who took time to review, your reviews are fueling my motivation.

** Shoesarecool** Well, as you probably learned from this chapter, yes, they were, but their friends don't know that because Shippo and Koga came after Sesshomaru took them away. And because Sesshomaru flew with them, the others couldn't pick their scents, so they thought their friends are gone. Sorry about that, but that's what's happening so far. You'll find out in the future if they find out about their friends or not ;-)

** HarmonyFan14** Yeah, Kohaku's so in love that he can't think straight, but he'll definitely have a talk with Narumi. And then you'll get to meet her :) Inuyasha and Kagome, as you probably found out from this chapter are fine. But because Shippo and Koga arrived after Sesshomaru left, they assumed their friends are dead. When they'll find out the real truth, well, that's for you to find out in the next chapters. Yes, angst is part of this story.

** Alannada** Awww, thank you. Yes, he was very quick because he knows things about the demon slayer village that our heroes don't know yet. But you'll find out more about it in the next chapters as the story unfolds. Yes, Kohaku's thorn between his love for Narumi and the truth behind his sister's words. Really looking forward to introducing Narumi to everyone and see your opinion on her. Well, Sessh's getting chatty, hope you enjoyed this chapter with him. Really happy you're excited about the story, yay.

** Saraharista36** Awww, thank you, happy to hear you find the story captivating. As I said below, I'll try to update every Sunday unless my life doesn't get very busy. Glad you like my new characters, I'm looking forward to everyone's reaction to them, especially to Narumi. Hope you liked this chapter and for now the wait wasn't so long.

Hope you enjoyed this new chapter. And if you did so, you can always let me know by leaving a review :) I won't promise, but I'll try to update every Sunday. Take care.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everyone! Sorry for the chapter delay, had a busy weekend. Thank you to everyone for reading the story and huge thank you to my old and new followers, favourites and reviewers. You make my days and motivate me to continue this story. As promised, please see a timeline below.

Day 1

Kitaro is born.

Sango and her family leave to the demon slayer village.

Day 2

Kaede leaves and Rin moves with Kagome and Inuyasha.

Sango and her family arrive mid-day at the demon slayer village. Then they have dinner together.

Villagers come to attack Inuyasha's family just before midnight.

Sango and Kohaku have the argument around midnight.

Day 3 (from midnight forward)

Sesshomaru arrives sometime after the villagers have left Inuaysha's hut and kills them all. Then he finds the little family alive and flies away with them.

Shippo arrives in the village and finds Inuyasha and Kagome's hut destroyed. Then he runs for Koga.

Koga comes and sees the hut destroyed and goes to find Miroku and Sango.

Koga finds Miroku and Sango and gets them far enough from the village just as the morning comes.

Inuyasha wakes up and starts chatting with Sesshomaru.

Hope you enjoy this new chapter. Please try to ignore if some words seem inappropriate for that times. They contribute more or less to the humor of the story.

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**Chapter 4: Stories unfold**

"So, tell us exactly what happened Shippo?" Miroku asked patting Shippo on the back.

"I was in the middle of a fox demon exam when we got attacked by a bunch of humans…"Shippo said trying to keep his voice steady. "I…I ...I think they were demon slayers judging by the outfits. They came out of nowhere and started throwing this bombs that had some horrible smelling powder, I think you had some of those, Sango." Sango nodded and also patted Shippo on the back, encouraging him to continue. "So, because I was somewhat familiar and knew they could temporarily paralyze demons, I knew I had to run. I barely escaped. The slayers didn't just kill everyone, they tortured them, even took prisoners. My ears were ringing from the screams and my nose couldn't smell anything else than blood. Few of us made it only because we were trained well enough to perform a perfect transformation that was identical to the slayers. They didn't notice us escaping. I haven't been this terrified since we were fighting Naraku…"

Shippo stopped and started to sob.

"You can always tell us the rest later…" Sango told him half-heartily.

"No, no, you have to know, maybe I missed something." Shippo insisted and continued with a clear voice, despite his falling tears. "I went back to Inuyasha and Kagome. I knew they were about to have the kid, but I really needed some friendly faces…"

"Kagome had the baby just before we left…" Sango informed him.

Shippo's eyes grew wide and for a second his smile was back, before he started sobbing again. "But that means, they killed him too, I didn't even get to meet Kagome's baby, AAAAAA."

Miroku and Sango left Shippo to cry. They were in Koga's den, the cave hidden before the waterfall. They've been trying to get the story from Shippo since they arrived at noon, but the poor demon was so traumatized by the recent events that he kept on sobbing. Koga was away with his friends, checking again their village and for any clues about Inuyasha and Kagome…any silver lining... Even without the shards, Koga was still a very fast demon, so he was able to make it in half a day rather than almost two days like normal people would. Well, Miroku and Sango made it in about a day and a half because they had Kirara.

Their baby was peacefully sleeping while their twins were playing with Koga's wolves.

"I'm sorry, you deserve to know, I'm sorry I keep on stopping."

Miroku and Sango gave Shippo an understanding look.

"So, by the time I reached the village, I think it was about two- or three-hours past midnight. And I went straight to the hut prepared for some comfort and love from Kagome and some mean yet constructive remarks from Inuyasha, but the only thing I found was debris. The hut was destroyed, burned to the ground. I could faintly still smell Inuyasha and Kagome, but the strongest smell was their blood. Inuyasha has been badly bleeding and I could smell villagers and Sesshomaru, but Inuaysha and Kagome's smell didn't go past the hut. I tried digging for them, but I couldn't find anything, just blood and then I saw Tessaiga and I was wondering why Inuyasha didn't just use Tessaige and then I looked at the sky and I realized that it was no moooooooooon…"

Shippo broke into tears again, but this time, Sango joined him too. Miroku felt his eyes stinging as well. With all the recent events (Kohaku's approaching marriage, Kagome and Inuyasha's baby), they totally forgot about Inuyasha's moonless night.

"Daddy, why is mummy crying?" Akari, his smallest daughter asked.

"Daddy, why are you crying?" Yui her twin sister asked.

"We're just upset your uncle Kohaku couldn't come with us, don't worry, we'll be fine, go play with Kirara."

"OK…" The girls said shyly and went to sit by Kirara stealing worried glances at their parents.

Miroku hugged Sango and patted her on the back.

"Sango, we have to be strong for our children, let's wait for Koga, maybe he found something new."

"It was NO MOON, Miroku, no moon. We left them on a no moon night with an exhausted Kagome and barely two-day old baby. They couldn't stand a chance against an angry mob of villagers. And according to Koga, it was at least half of the village."

"Koga said he'll search for Kaede, she maybe knows more, maybe she helped Inuyasha and Kagome."

"OR MAYBE THEY KILLED HER TOOOOOO. I COULDN'T FIND HER EITHEEEEEER. I WENT SEARCH FOR HER AND SHE WAS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND EITHEEEER." Shippo started wailing.

Sango started sobbing louder and Miroku noticed their twins started crying too.

The situation just went from worse to even worse. Miroku hoped that Koga will bring them some good news. Any good news to lift their broken spirits.

* * *

"About three years ago when we were all fighting Naraku and looking for the jewels, in the further South, some demons realized that if they team up, they'll still be powerful even without a jewel shard. So, the three demons took over a village in the Southern lands and enslaved the people. Then they attacked the closest villages, one by one, creating a kingdom to rule over. Since Naraku was the bigger evil and most attention was on him and the jewel shards, no one realized what was happening in the South since the jewel hunting was mostly in the North. They ruled happily and with cruelty over the defenseless people, until someone managed to escape from their kingdom and break the news to the other villages. In fear of getting attacked as well, the villagers put money together and hired demon slayers to destroy the demons. The slayers were from a long noble line of famous and well-trained demon fighters that worked in partnership with priests and priestesses, so their weapons were twice as efficient. It was a harsh and bloody battle, but the demons were killed and the people from the Southern lands were freed.

Upon returning to their village, they threw a big feast to celebrate their victory, with loads of food, friendly games and they even hired someone to provide them a musical background. The men were drinking and sharing fighting skills outside while the women went indoors to gossip about each other's lives. However, during the celebration, one of their man came where the women were and started to kill them. The slayers didn't hear the screams of the panicked women because of the music and joy outside until it was almost too late. The man managed to kill more than half of them: young, elders, mothers, children, people of all ages. After they killed the crazy man, they realized that, in fact, he was being possessed by one of the spirits of the demons they killed in the South. He took revenge over them. The slayers managed to get rid of the demon with the seals they had and even called a priest to double check, but the blood had already been spilt. Ever since then, that village had began to train men and women in slaying demons and has been growing in the past years. It has started to take in as many people willing to become slayers as possible. They started creating multiple villages around the area. In the beginning it seemed like they were just learning how to defend themselves, but in time it proved they were actually working on something bigger. After having over ten other demon slaying villages spread everywhere, North, South, West, East, they started sending their spies across the land to create alliances with villages. They started forming alliances with priests and priestesses. Demons started hearing about this and began preparing themselves. And things have been building up. In the past year, fights and secret attacks have started, villages being completely wiped out or demon settlements entirely destroyed. A war is coming and both parts are burning to start it as soon as possible. So now, humans and demons, are choosing their side and position in the war."

"How come I never heard about this?" Inuyasha asked while he was feeding Kitaro with a bowl of milk Jaken had brought from who knows were. Sesshomaru had hit his loyal servant and sent him for more resources (blankets, wood) and milk.

"You probably heard about it, but didn't realise. Haven't you and the monk been out of business for almost half a year now?"

"Yes, lately there haven't been any more demon hunting missions."

"It's because demons are planning and teaming together or are hiding from the slayers. Everyone's working in the shadows."

"How did you find out about all of these?"

"I have a big network due to my pure blood and our father's legacy." Sesshomaru puffed.

"Maybe I'll ask Myoga next time…haven't seen him in a while…"

"He went into hiding with Totosai shortly after you and your mate got married."

"WHAT?! You mean that's why I couldn't find or see them in the past months?"

"There are many signs, but they weren't obvious…."

"So, what's your role in this war? How come you're not guarding Rin? Are you going to fight?"

"I'll skip if possible. I convinced the other demons I'm better with strategizing and providing resources for them, so they agreed to let me and other few uninterested in fighting demons to deal with those mundane tasks."

"And you're appointing Rin your heir because?"

"Idiot, I've already explained it. Force that half-brain of yours to follow. Humans and demons have to make a choice on which side they are fighting for. There's no in between or, if it is, it's called cowardice or hiding and you're going to be killed by either sides on sight or worse, taken prisoner and tortured and used as bait. The only way demons let humans on our side is if they're family or part of our pack or slaves. Rin's human and I proclaim her my heir in order to place her under my protection and gain mutual respect from the others. Since you are half my brother, I can accept that you are part of the family and place you under my protection…"

"And since Kagome is my mate and Kitaro my son, I can place them under my protection…" Inuaysha followed.

"Exactly. But you have to make yourself useful since I'm offering my protection and a safe place for you and your family, so I appointed you Rin's guardians. Just watch her not get into trouble or being eaten by my mother's brainless guards."

"What do you mean your mother's guards?"

"You're going to live in my mother's castle. That's a declared safe and secret space. No one will know and has to know you are there."

"What if your mother's guards attack me or my family? I'm a half breed after all. And what about your mother, wouldn't she want to kill us?"

"We reached an agreement and as long as you stay in the assigned part of the castle, the guards aren't allowed to attack you in any way, including verbally. Either I or my mother will personally kill them. You're allowed to do so too. Regarding my mother, she wouldn't occupy herself with your filthy lives, though she might be intrigued and want to find out more about you and your family, we're still trying to reach an agreement about her behavior towards you. But she agreed not to eat any of you…"

"WHAT!? Have you lost your mind Sesshomaru, I'm not moving in with your mother, she sounds crazy!"

"HOW DARE YOU PIECE OF FILT INSULT THIS SESSHOMARU'S MOTHER AFTER I OFFERED YOU MY PROTECTION AND ALLIANCE!"

"I'M NOT PUTTING MY FAMILY IN DANGER! What about my friends' family? Is she taking us all in?"

"This Sesshomaru never mentioned your other friends. They're humans and useless to this Sesshomaru's plan. They can do whatever they want."

"They're part of my pack!" Inuyasha roared.

"MIND YOUR FAMILY!" Sesshomaru growled back.

"THEY ARE PART OF MY FAMILY!"

"THEY'RE PART OF YOUR PACK BUT NOT MINE SO IT'S NONE OF MY BUSINESS!"

"I WASN'T PART OF YOUR PACK EITHER, I'M ONLY PART BECAUSE YOU NEED ME!"

"I MERELY NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE AND NOTHING MORE!"

Rin stirred and woke up because of the brother's loud argument. She saw Inuyasha and Sesshomaru violently growling at each other. She moved away in fear.

Sesshomaru punched Inuyasha lightly, slightly throwing him off balance, but not enough to drop the baby. Kitaro was as well starting to get upset.

"You're scaring Rin." Sesshomaru told him totally pissed.

"You're scaring my son." Inuyasha told him equally pissed.

Inuyasha checked Kagome who was still in deep sleep, then he looked at his scared son. Then he looked at Rin.

"Oh, hello Rin, here, hold my baby." Inuaysha said as he placed Kitaro in her arms and then he started fighting Sesshomaru with his bare hands.

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Thank you for reading! Special thank you to those of you who took time to review, you're awesome and your reviews make me smile and fuel my motivation to write. Thank you to:

**Shoesarecool** You're welcome. Hope the timeline also clarifies the story even better. Yes, actually me too :)) Unfortunately it's still going to take a bit until we get there since I'm writing about multiple other events happening at the same time. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint.

**Alannada** Very glad it was enjoyable:) Yes, he did, but it's the kind of deal with two sides and we learnt more about it in this chapter. Regarding the rest of the Inu pack, I slightly touched on it in this chapter. Thank you for asking, I'll clarify it in further chapters, but for now it's because Sesshomaru doesn't see them as part of his pack. And Inuyasha doesn't have too much in the saying, so he can't take them under protection. Also, Sesshomaru considers them of no use or so he told Inuyasha. If there's a different reason, we'll see in future chapters. Anyway, very good point :)

Yes, Jaken always gets hit, but sometimes he deserves is…not now though.

Have a great week everyone! Until next time, review to motivate the writer and take care, wash your hands and read fanfiction to make you smile.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone! Been really busy with work lately (working from home because current events), so sorry for late update. Thank you to the new followers and favourites and **THANK YOU to anyone who takes time to give this story a read** :)

Any questions about the story or unclear events, please do not hesitate to leave a comment or contact me and I'm happy to either explain you or further touch on the topic in the story. Hope you enjoy this new chapter :) I'll do another timeline in the following chapters if that was helpful.

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**Chapter 5: Love and family come first**

"AAAA!" Kohaku shouted as something suddenly jumped on his back making him lose his balance and fall on the ground inside his yet unlighted hut. The boy quickly recovered from the sudden surprise attack and grabbed his sword from his hip while he rolled his body on the floor. With the attacker just under him, Kohaku turned around and brought the blade to its neck, just to be met with a loud clank. The intruder had a sword too and forced Kohaku to stand up by pushing its sword into his.

They started duelling with the blades in the darkness of the hut, concentrating on each other's breathing to identify their position. Faint traces of the moonlight were coming through the curtains of the window, illuminating the swords now and then and making each opponent's position visible.

Kohaku was swift and agile, but he was still angry after his fight with his sister, so his movement was a bit off. The intruder seemed as skilled as him, moving fast and blocking his moves.

_'A spy!'_ Kohaku realized and seemed relieved, almost happy that he was right: his fellow villagers did have a right to be more vigilant than usual and Sango was exaggerating. However, his sudden realization broke his concentration on the fight, which didn't go unnoticed by the attacker, who immediately threw a powerful blow. Kohaku's sword flew upwards, sticking in the ceiling. Kohaku didn't have time to be surprised because he'd been trained for moments like this. The attacker longed at Kohaku's neck with the sword, but the slayer was prepared. He triggered his small hand blade and caught the incoming sword and pushed it with full force backwards. The attacker stumbled on its feet, falling on its back with Kohaku on top of him. The boy was still pushing his small hand blade with full strength into the attacker's sword, forcing it on its neck and making his hand twist in an awkward position. The attacker tried to use the free hand, but Kohaku was faster and pinned it to the ground.

"Who are you, what do you want?" Kohaku asked inching closer trying to see the attacker's face. But so did the intruder, moving it's head fast, till its lips were suddenly pressed on Kohaku's.

Kohaku's eyes went wide, but gave into the kiss as soon as he felt a familiar, yet secret sign. He stopped pushing his blade and he heard the sword of the attacker falling sideways. He moved up, still making out with the intruder, letting space for it to get up as well. His hand pinning the wrist began clasping it gently. Finally, the two broke apart.

"How am I ever going to explain to my father that our secret sign for recognizing each other is a small bite to the lip, on the lower left?"

"That's why it's a secret sign, so no one else has to know it. And you are my fiance now, anyway...God, you really scared me, Narumi! It's past midnight!" Kohaku said putting his hand blade aside so he could hug her.

All slayers from the village had a secret sign to greet their partner or teams, but there were usually hand movements or kicks. Narumi and Kohaku, however, developed a different one…Once they were training together, they were really annoyed one with another because they had to come up with this sign and they had no idea what to pick. It was shortly after they decided to become a team and Kohaku had got permission from Narumi's father to court her. But all they could think was one another and how they wanted to get to know each other better. In all ways… In the end they just ended up kissing and one tease let to another and they decided it can work for a secret recognition sign. Gave them plenty of opportunities to practice it while making out. Of course, somewhere in the forest or in Kohaku's hut, away from others, it was a secret sign after all.

"I've been waiting for you for ages and I got really bored, so I thought you wouldn't mind a bit of training in the dark. Besides, what if a demon caught you and was controlling your body or took your form? There was only one way to find out…" Narumi teased resting her head on his chest while crawling into his lap.

"Well, I was just talking to my sister, trying to clear things up…"Kohaku admitted putting his hands around her and resting his head on top of hers.

He loved her, he really loved her. He loved her long braided black hair that was reaching her middle, yet he also loved when she let it loose, like a black waterfall, it was mesmerizing. And her eyes had this beautiful brown, with amber glints whenever she was determined to do something and her smile, he loved her smile and laugh and…

"Kohaku, are you daydreaming about us again? How about you give us present time? What did your sister say?"

"Well, she said, she meant, she…"

"Kohaku, could you please stop mumbling like an idiot, you sound like me when I try to explain to dad why I love you despite your weird affinity for demons. Just tell me honestly what she said."

"Uhhh, she raised some really good points…She's upset about how her family's been escorted to the village and the incident during the meal…I mean, I'm a bit…well…upset…curious about that one."

"That's simple. Father saw the demon cat ready to lounge, so he attacked first. And the greeting, well, they were bringing demons, of course they needed an escort. What if they were being manipulated by some demons or were demons themselves and your true family had already been eaten?"

"Narumi, not all demons can shapeshift and manipulate or control, it depends on their abilities. And what about the spies that you kept on telling me about? I told Sango you said they were spies."

"The spies are good, they work for us."

"Excuse me what?"

Narumi exhaled annoyed and moved closer trying to stare into Kohaku's eyes, yet it was still dark. Frustrated, she stood up and opened the curtains, letting light fall into the hut. Satisfied that now she can read his face, she took back her place in front of him and took hold of his hands.

"You're adorable Kohaku, but you're really awful at politics…Not that I'm better, but at least I know the main ideas. I told you there are spies roaming around the village because I heard my father talking about it, but I never told you they were bad."

"So they're on our side?"

"Yes, as far as I overheard. You know my father only share what he wants with me, but I'm sure the spies are ours. And we have them everywhere. Even in my own house." Narumi added the last sentence imitating her father's voice when he accidentally spotted her listening to his meetings through the doors.

The teens started laughing.

"We're moving away from the topic. Then what about the second incident. Kirara wasn't about to attack anyone."

"I'm sure my father saw differently."

"Narumi, she was probably about to lounge at the food or saw something that drew her attention…"

"See, she was about to attack!" Narumi said throwing her hands in the air and making growling noises. "Oh, I just remembered, your sword is still stuck up, hold me up so I can reach it".

"Demons are hard to foresee, but I really know Kirara and I'm sure she wasn't about to attack. Maybe she was going to play with the twins. She's really not evil, she's sleeping in the same house with my sister and you know I used to travel with her before." Kohaku explained while holding Narumi up. The girl grabbed the sword victoriously and gave it back to Kohaku, but still cling to his body like a monkey.

"Was the getting the sword just a reason to make me hold you? You know you only have to ask."

"It's more fun this way." She giggled and they exchange a quick kiss. But then her face grew serious and she looked at him with seriously.

"Kohaku, I…I need to tell you something…maybe somethings…"

"Lord Sesshomaru, I'm back, I brought the milk, but …"

"Jaken-sama, thank goodness you're here, do something!" Rin appeared with a crying Kitaro in her arms pointing to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru on the ground trying to strangle each other.

"Rin, you're awake!"

"Yes, their growling woke me up. And then Inuyasha saw me and said, hold my baby and then he started fighting Lord Sesshomaru and now they're just trying to choke one another, do something, Kagome-sama is not waking up!" Rin said in one breath shaking Jaken.

"And you want me to accommodate this beast in my palace…"

Rin took a step back and Kitaro stopped crying watching the new guest. Inuaysha and Sesshomaru chased their fight and looked into the direction of the new voice as well.

"Who's that?" Inuyasha asked. The lady looked familiar.

"Mother?" Sesshomaru gasped and stood up shoving Inuyasha aside.

"MOTHER?!" Inuyasha gasped as well.

Rin made her way behind Sesshomaru and Inuyasha reached for his son.

"Oh, what am I getting myself into…Found little demon down here stealing stuff from my palace in the middle of the night, so small, yet terribly noise and horrible at sneaking! So I decided to put him out of his disastrous stealing stuff misery and just put him to take me to you…"

"Name's Jaken Lady Mother-sama."

"Well, Sesshomaru, is this the half-breed you want me to bring in my palace? The one your father conceived with that human when we got bored of each other."

"This Sesshomaru really doesn't want to hear that story again. But you can entertain this half-brother with it if you want. Why are you here?"

"That should be my question. Why didn't you bring them at the palace? Were you afraid I'm going to eat them?" The demoness smirked.

"We didn't reach an agreement, so I didn't bring them yet."

"So, you sent your little toad to steal things to accommodate them here instead? You want other demons to think lowly of how I'm treating my son during those terrible times?! Let's skip amiabilities, you, half-breed, you have my word I won't harm your family as long as you don't bring harm to mine. Including Sesshomaru's little girl which I would appreciate darling if you address me as Kimi-sama rather than grandmother. Or I might accidentally eat you."

Kimi giggled, but Sesshomaru seemed to be fuming. Rin nodded but was clinging tightly to Sesshomaru's leg and Inuyasha's spare hand.

"OK, now Sesshomaru, grab your little new allies, your so called heir and little demon and let's go. You're no beast to live in a cave."

"My name is Jaken…"

"Mother, we'll come when this Sesshomaru…"

"This mother of yours said something. I wasn't giving you a choice. It was an order."

Now Inuyasha knew were Sesshomaru got the pompous bastard attitude from. He tried not to smirk because his brother was already really annoyed. Sesshomaru showed Ah-Un to Inuyasha and then he grabbed Rin and flew after his mother. Jaken barely had a chance to grab onto him.

"Guess we don't have a choice, Kagome."Inuyasha murmured to her as he lift her with one hand and put her on Ah-Un. He didn't know how he'll be able to convince his brother and even colder mother to let their friends joined them. But right now, as Sesshomaru pointed out, and he hated he was right, he had his own family to mind. For now at least. Securing his grip on both her and his son, he followed after his brother.

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Alannada - Happy you enjoyed it :) And was so thrilled to see your reviews. I am kind of looking forward to seeing them now, but no pressure if you skip one or just stick to only reading the story. Yeah, I only use it to show that the characters are yelling or very angry. That's a good point: Sesshomaru doesn't actually know much about Inuyaha's pack. As I said, I'll detail later on why Sesshomaru is so dismissive towards Miroku and Sango, but for now, we can assume maybe his mother doesn't want to accommodate so many new humans in her castle. About keeping Inuyasha away from battle: well, it right be a subjective opinion, but although you are right that he would be great in battle, I believe Inuyasha wouldn't want to go slay humans. He would probably enjoy a good fight, but not one which involves killing humans. And I like to think that since it's war, he would prefer staying and protecting his family. Sesshomaru didn't want to go fighting in the war either (I'll detail on this too at some point), so he probably didn't see a point in making his brother fight either. As he said, he would prefer Inuyasha protecting Rin from danger which right now seems to be his own mother. If Sesshomaru is involved with military strategy and resources, he won't have time to keep an eye on Rin which if she's his heir, might be in danger. Sesshomaru is "a high profile" especially due to his father's name, so he doesn't want to let Rin unprotected in case some demons come for her to kidnap her and use her as war hostage if you know what I mean.

Sissi1789 - Aww, thank you, really happy to hear you liked it. ^_^

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OK, don't forget to feed the writer's motivation with your lovely reviews, follows or favourites.

Until next time, take care and I hope you enjoyed this new chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone! Long time, no chapter, sorry about that. I've been really busy with work! To make up, I made the chapter longer and let some more information slip. **Thank you for all the favorites, follows and comments**, they brought my motivation back to this story!

For any questions about the story PM or leave a comment to the fic :)

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**This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful person who nominated this fic for the Best drama Category for the 2020 2nd Quarterly Inuyasha Fandom Awards, run by FeudalConnection! THANK YOU very much, you made my day**.

**Chapter 6**

**He knew more than they thought**

"What do you need to tell me Narumi?" Kohaku asked.

"Don't worry, it's not about our relationship. I love you more than ever even if your family likes demons."

"I love you too, but what is it?"

"I really tried not to like your sister…"

"What, why? Did she say something mean to you or…"

"No dummy, it's nothing to do with her, it's me…I was afraid once you'll meet with her you'll want to go back or her demon will attack you…But today, you were both so happy to see each other and she really seemed nice and I felt awful for being jealous over your only family…I mean, I should know better, my father's my only family left too, yet I would run away with you any day. I guess some part of me knows that your remaining family is better than my remaining family."

"What do you mean?" Kohaku asked holding her closely.

"When your sister came, she was furious because of the escort. But upon seeing you, she was so happy. And her husband and the children and even the ferocious demon. I haven't seen my father just happy to see me since my mother was alive. Nowadays the only way to make him happy is being a great fighter…So it made sense to me that you might want to go or even take me with you, but I really don't like demons, Kohaku!"

Narumi broke into sobs. Kohaku tried to comfort her, but the girl pushed away and wiped her tears furiously.

"And I tried hating them because they like demons, but they were really nice people Kohaku, your family is indeed nice and I it confuses me because demons are bad, but they have a demon, so how come they're nice?"

"Give demons a chance, Narumi, not all of them are like that. I told you the story about the girl who preferred demons to humans because of what humans did to her family."

"I know, I know, but it's not easy…and I did convince my father to give your sister a chance…didn't I?"

"Yes, I'm really grateful for that and I'm proud of you. And I promised you: if you give demons a chance, I'll be patient with you."

"Thank you, you're the best." Narumi hugged him and they stayed like that in the silence of the hut.

"I should be going back to my hut before anyone actually notices there are just pillows and not an actual body in the room."

"They haven't noticed before, they'll probably not notice now, but let's not make it a first. Good night." Kohaku leaned for their usual goodnight kiss.

"Wait, before that, there was another thing I was supposed to tell you, but I only know bits and pieces about this one. Because my father knows I sometimes spy on him and listen to his meetings, he now holds secret meetings in secret places. I stumbled upon one just before your sister was due to arrive. They were talking about your sister's village and some kind of alliance. And demon slaying. But I suppose they were referring while your sister's away, so they were offering protection, but it didn't make sense why they didn't send someone beforehand."

"Wait, what demon slaying? The village already has someone to protect it from demons while my sister's away. You know, that half-demon I told you about that my sister is also friends with?"

"Kohaku, it's really hard for me to keep track of all the demons your sister's friends with. And you also told me not to tell my dad about this, well, actually, that was my suggestion, but my point is he doesn't know so maybe he sent some protection. Maybe he's trying to build a good relationship with your village because of our upcoming marriage, isn't that nice?!...and a bit odd, he rarely does nice things for others, that's what also made me wonder about it."

"What exactly did you hear?"

"We'll kill the demons while the slayer's away with her family. Then our alliance will be sealed, and our villages will become allies during the war. We can start exchanging goods and you can send some of your men here." Narumi said imitating her father's voice, but Kohaku didn't seem amused this time. "I couldn't hear more because then someone came to announce your sister's arrival, so I had to leave. Kohaku, are you OK? You look a bit pale or is it the moonlight?"

"Oh, no…" Kohaku said with sudden realization. "I need to speak to my sister. Urgently."

"I'm coming with you. I can't let you leave all by yourself in the forest, there might be demons even if it's close to our village. With demons you never know!"

"I can't take you with me. You know you don't like demons and my sister has a demon. And it's almost morning, this time someone will notice you weren't in bed all night. I don't want your father thinking bad of us or our relationship or people gossiping about it."

"Oh, come on Kohaku!" Narumi said slapping him gently. "You know our teammates already know we're together and my father's too busy with his scheming against demons to notice how close we've got. We haven't actually got that that close…" Narumi added blushing. "And about your sister's demon, I'll just keep distance or close my eyes or hide behind you…I'm more worried you might run into evil demons…I have to come, we're a team. Besides, I'm better at sneaking then you are. I bet I can get you out of the village and no one will notice because I know a few secret ways and where the guards are."

"I…OK, let's go, I don't think we have time to argue about this, I really need to reach Sango."

They exchanged a quick kiss and then sneaked out silently around the village. The first rays of the morning were just breaking when the two demon slayers escaped the village unnoticed by anyone.

"Koga, shouldn't we go back to the den? Miroku and Sango are definitely waiting eagerly to hear news from their village…" Ginta, Koga's close friend asked him while they were running in a different direction than their den.

"They can wait a little while longer, we did them enough favors so far anyway. I need to check on Ayame and the kids first."

"Koga, but didn't you say we'll check on them when we bring Miroku and Sango with us there?" Hakaku his other friend asked.

"Ohhhh, you dummies, all your questioning is giving me a headache. Stop and come closer".

"Are you gonna hit our heads together like last time we started questioning you too much?" Ginta said making a step back while Hakaku paled at the memory.

"Huh? Oh, no, this time I really don't have time for this. I mean it, I don't want anyone hearing us and I'm always nervous when we're passing around the area of this village. They had to be this close to our area, I hate it!"

Hakaku and Ginta approached with interest and curiosity, all fear of being hit forgotten. Koga whistled at the wolves travelling with them and instructed them to keep a safe distance from them while also guarding the area.

"So, listen. What I am telling you now, no one, absolutely no one else has to know, otherwise, not only I, but all of us will be in trouble."

Koga's friends nodded.

"You know there have been rumours about an upcoming humans vs demons war? Well, there are not only rumors, it's real. I had some meetings with the elders in Ayame's clan as well and with other demons and we made a plan regarding our clan's position in the war. Firstly, we have to move our den in a safe space. The one we currently live in is too close to the demon slayer village. It's always been like this, but those idiot slayers have been starting to become malicious in recent years and continuing to live here has become too dangerous as they might find our spot and decide to erase us. It's one of the reasons I had Ayame and the cubs live in a different temporary den. And the reason I'll have all of us move in a very other different place."

"We're moving?!"

"Yes, tonight. There's a place much further away and hidden between the mountains, it's perfect for us. The other demon wolf tribes that have allied with us have already made all the arrangements, I just need to inform Ayame and have us all leave tonight. This way, she can leave now, and we'll follow after, so we won't draw too much attention with this much demonic energy floating around. The slayers have their ways of noticing this stuff and I really don't like it."

"Does Ayame know about the war?"

"She knows probably even better than me. She's great with diplomacy and helped me build some great alliances with other tribes and the other demons from those lands. Even with the dead mutt's brother, Sesshomaru, with whom I have meeting tomorrow to discuss further war plans and strategies, and other important demons, bla, bla, bla, hurray very exciting…" Koga muttered the last phrase within his teeth.

"What did you say Koga? I didn't catch the last part…"

"I only understood we have a meeting?" Hakaku asked as confused as Ginta.

"Details, details, nothing you two have to bother with!" Koga said dismissively. 'The less you know, the less you have to worry for.' He thought.

"We got the part with moving our den, but what about Miroku and Sango?"

"That's the second thing. They're coming with us. If a war is coming, having a priest and a slayer, it's great, they can give us insight and help us turn the balance in our favor."

"Koga, you sound as if having Miroku and Sango join us was part of the plan all along…" Ginta noticed.

"It was…"

"IT WAS?!"

"SHHH, YOU MORONS!" Koga half shouted, half-whispered while hitting them. "Why do you think I risked our lives to take them as far as possible from that slayer village and offered to take them in?!"

"Well, we thought you understood their grief for losing their friends and wanted to check their village first before sending them there. It could have been dangerous especially since they have kids and stuff." Hakaku explained and Ginta approved.

"That too, but that wasn't part of the plan. I mean losing Inuyasha and Kagome, DAMN IT! I couldn't save them, it was that big idiot mutt's job to take care of them, not mine! I only got part of their pack and that was hard too because the other demons wanted them for their knowledge or have them killed. And when we finally agreed they're under my protection, I find out they've gone on a trip exactly to the demon slayer village that started it all! UHHHH and then Shippo came and the news about Kagome was totally unexpected, though I should have known, the other idiot should have known, DAMN IT!"

At this point Koga's voice had risen and his fist kept clenching and unclenching. Ginta and Hakaku were watching him worried and a bit confused from all the new information. They knew Koga loved Ayame with all his heart, but Koga will always have a soft point for Kagome and the news about losing her hit him hard. They realized that probably Koga wanted to tell Ayame about that too…

"Koga, you shouldn't blame yourself, it's as you said, Inuyasha was supposed to protect them, not you, so…"

"I wasn't referring to Inuyasha! His brother was supposed to protect them, they were under his pack, his protection, his everything and for whatever reason that night he wasn't in the village like all the other past nights!" Koga shouted slamming his fist on the ground. "Something must have happened and I'm sure gonna ask him and will get an answer! It's too much of a coincidence that after we divided who takes whom, the two groups suddenly split, one gets killed and the other goes at the enemy's home, it's too…"

The wolves came barking violently.

"There are two humans in the area, they have attacked the wolves." Hakaku informed listening to them.

"Let's go, they might be spies. We have to get rid of them, they might have heard something or worse, might have been following us. I can try this new powerful poison that paralyses humans and makes them fall asleep." Koga grinned regaining his composure and trying to push the thoughts about his dead friends far behind in his mind.

"Koga, you never told us where you got all those powerful new objects. I mean the talisman that hides your aura, now this poison…" Ginta said while they all started running after the wolves to destroy the threat.

"Well, you know that when we went to the village looking for traces of the mutt and Kagome, we didn't go look for the old priestess."

"Yes, you totally ignored when we suggested."

"And we reminded you at least three times…"

"She's been taken by some hawk demon from the East, she's under his protection and he's making her work for him. He has some other priest who's the one who's been making these new objects for us. They are going to work together from now on whether she likes it or not."

"What?! Are you going to tell Miroku and Sango about this?"

"No and you will not tell them either. We'll just say we couldn't find anything about her or say the villagers killed her too. They don't need to know about the war and alliances yet. What would I tell them anyway? I and a bunch of other powerful demons negotiated your lives and barely managed to get you two together and in exchanged I said the old priestess might be worth more due to her experience. Oh, yeah, you almost got separated and because the big mutt is brother to the mutt, I couldn't take Kagome under my protection too because she was the mutt's wife. I hate politics and I hate this war that hasn't even started!"

"Koga, I see the humans!"

"Watch out, I'm throwing the poison."

Miroku hasn't been more thrilled about seeing Koga. And Sango was as well until Koga opened his mouth and pointed at his friends coming from behind:

"I had to knock them out, they could have told the others about us…"

"KOHAKU!" Sango exclaimed upon seeing her brother and Narumi unconscious.

"We have to leave this den NOW. Everyone, let's move it, we talked about this before!" Koga shouted.

Even though the wolf tribe didn't know about the safe place, they've made plans about sudden departures, so they were ready to live the den as fast as possible at their leader's command.

"Wait, is it safe to return to our village?"

"You're coming with us, questions later, hurry, let's go." Koga added and then muttered so only Ginta and Hakaku could hear. "What I told you today, stays between us, so NOT A WORD." His friends nodded and Koga knew he could trust them.

"Wait, we can't, where are you going? "Miroku asked holding the twins.

"We're in great danger right now because we kidnapped two demon slayers from the village. It won't take long until they notice. Take everything with you, we're not coming back, pack." Koga quickly told them while shouting instructions and rushing everyone around.

"I think it would be better if you just return them. The villagers will be more than angry, especially the chief." Sango suggested as she helped Miroku put the kids safely on Kirara.

"What do you mean especially the chief? Pour water everywhere so they won't be able to track us. No fires, it will alert them. And leave some traps and poison around here, so they'll feel 'welcomed' if they ever come." Koga asked still very busy with everything going around.

"Narumi, the young girl you captured, it's the chief's daughter."

"What?" Koga finally stopped giving instructions and gave his full attention to Sango.

"We met them yesterday, she's Kohaku's fiancée. So they shouldn't have a problem with us, we…"

But Koga was no longer listening. He suddenly understood the gravity of the situation.

"You can't keep us here against our will!" Sango snapped. "Miroku, Shippo, we're leaving."

"You don't get a saying in this. I will deal with you later and explain you more, but right now I have other urgent matters." Koga said in a cold voice. "Or do you want to start a fight with us considering you have three children and two unconscious teens? We're pretty busy and pissed right now, so if I were you, I would OBEY my instructions and I'll make sure my friends won't be rude to you…or your family."

Miroku and Sango went silent and Shippo coward in fear with the kids. They didn't expect such a cold reaction from Koga.

"I think we should just follow them for now my dear Sango and discuss later the terms of our departure…"Miroku suggested eyeing Koga carefully, but the wolf demon leader was already back to shouting instructions.

Everyone went out of the cave just as the sun was setting. Koga told some of his men and wolves to hurry ahead and take a part of the pack that was with Ayame. He'll take her and everyone else left. They had to divide so they wouldn't draw attention.

Koga let it sink in as he was leading his people further away from their now old den. He had kidnapped the chief's daughter. The demon slayer chief who was the reason a war was coming, the one who had been building this fight against demons and humans for years. He basically declared war…

* * *

**I'm Iseul** Aww, thank you :) Glad you are enjoying it, I'm a fan of stories post canon too. You'll probably notice, it's not always only about them, but I still hope you'll have a pleasant time reading this fic. Thank you loads for your lovely comments.

**Guest** Yay, glad you like my story!

**Alannada** Thanks for understanding ^_^ True about Inuyasha :) Oh, I love Sesshomaru's mum too, really looking forward to writing about her. Spoiler not spoiler, she's definitely appearing in the next chapter. But I needed to write this one to clarify Koga's part in the plot and well, to kind of put things into action. And I hope this chapter also clarified some of your past questions about why Sesshomaru didn't take whole Inuyasha's pack. There will be more on the topic in the future as at some point, someone has to tell Miroku and Sango the truth.

**FeudalConnection** Thank you for letting me know. THANK YOU to whoever nominated it, hope they enjoyed the new chapter! I'm a big fan of your awards and I feel honored that someone nominated my fic.

**Ellie** Really glad it got you hooked and sorry to keep you waiting. Your fic was a nice reminder that there's people like you waiting for the next chapter. Hope it didn't disappoint.

Thank you everyone for your comments. They truly brighten my days and motivate me to keep on writing. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Take care! Until next time!


	7. Chapter 7

Hello everyone!

As a thank you for all the reviews, follows and favorites received, I'm updating today instead of the usual every two-week update. **BIG THANK YOU for taking time to follow, favourite or review**!

As I previously mentioned, this story got nominated (**THANK YOU**) to the 2020 2nd Quarterly Inuyasha Fandom Awards, run by FeudalConnection, for BEST DRAMA. Voting is in process, so if you really like this story, you can now show your appreciation by voting for it. Just google for FeudalConnection and look for the voting link. Thank you.

**Hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Too much information**

The fly to Kimi's home took all day, so it was just as the sun was setting, that they finally arrived there (_Author note: the same time the wolf tribe was leaving their den_). All the time they flew up high, with Sesshomaru and his mother in demon forms at the front, Jaken and Rin hanging on Sesshomaru and Inuyasha with his family on Ah-Un following behind.

Initially, nothing was visible in sight, but when the demoness suddenly rushed at the front of the pack the air started to shift. Small clouds around them started to form, engulfing them. Despite the poor visibility, Inuyasha continued to follow his brother trusting his smell and made no attempts to get away from the weird clouds. It would have been a risky move.

After a few minutes, the clouds dissipated, leaving behind a thick dark fog. Again, Inuyasha had to rely only on his senses to keep following his brother. And then, the castle finally appeared, reflecting the last sunshine. The place looked huge and literally floating on the clouds.

Inuyasha originally thought they were flying high up in the sky because the place they were going was on a mountain. Never would have he expected to discover that Sesshomaru's mother lived up in the skies in a massive castle. Blows up from the start more than half of the escape possibilities he could have considered…and brings other concerns to mind.

'Now I have to make sure Kagome doesn't trip over a cloud and falls all the way down…keh, clumsy wife…' Inuyasha thought to himself while gently brushing his hand on her cheek. She was still in deep sleep, safely tucked in his arms. Their son, however, woke up when they reached the castle, his tiny nose being invaded by new smells.

Everyone landed at the entrance and Kimi transformed into her human form. After Rin and Jaken slid down, Sesshomaru changed back as well. They were greeted by some demon dog soldiers who lowered their weapons and kneeled greeting them.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kimi said pridefully and upon giving a known-look in the guard's direction, they raised.

Everyone started walking through the long path towards the castle.

"The sunset always puts this castle in its best light." She giggled at her own pun. "In case your underdeveloped mind can't comprehend how this castle is floating here on the clouds, half-demon, I'll provide you with a small background. About hundreds of years ago when I was only a small girl, the Inus around gathered and thought of a better way of protecting their mates. They decided that only the sky was their limit, but then why that should be their limit? They made a deal with some witches who summoned all the previous inu spirits and their power lift the castle up in the sky where it was bounded to the clouds. Nothing could ever bring it down. You could say it had been cursed, but in a good way. Even if attacked, the castle has its way of hiding between the clouds and fog, leaving any ill-intentioned demon lost and with no track to find it again. Humans don't even count, their senses are too dull and would get lost before even getting on the right track. The magical entrance to the castle only recognizes the inu bloodline, though we never tested to see if it accepts halves. Oh, and only Toga's bloodline more exactly as it was actually our pack's mating gift."

Inuyasha was listening intently to everything while still paying attention to his family and looking at the new surroundings. He placed Kagome on Ah-Un, making sure she will not fall and walked by the demon with his son in his arms. Kitaro was cooing, looking amazed around while munching gently one of his father's fingers.

There was so much to take in, it made sense to Inuyasha that a human would barely stand a chance to find this place. He bit his tongue from making any comments when his heritage was mentioned.

When Kimi's speech ended, he noticed his brother acting odd. Sesshomaru had his hands raised to his ears tentatively, but then upon seeing Rin he moved his arms towards her ears. His brother looked torn between covering his or her ears and Inuyasha suddenly found out why as Kimi continued without sparing a glance at her son's weird behaviour.

"I and Toga received this wonderful place and spent many romantic and passionate moments here. We were young and thrown into a relationship by our families, a political relationship that meant to unite the Inu packs. We didn't get a choice and we found each other together in this massive castle. So we started exploring it…and our so new relationship and we…"

Sesshomaru was trying to hide his blush and seemed to be talking to himself chanting about some meeting tomorrow, meeting tomorrow in order to avoid hearing any more. Jaken, at his lord's command, had covered Rin's ears, but it was in vain as the girl was blushing too, probably still hearing bits and pieces. Inuyasha, poor Inuyasha. He really didn't want to hear what his father was doing…

"…we were unstoppable and without limits and well, then Sesshomaru happened and he was adorable at the beginning…"

"Mother, please…"

"Not now Sesshomaru, I'm cultivating his lack of knowledge regarding his family background, don't want a primitive hobo in my castle. If he speaks with anyone, he must know about the history of this place."

"This Sesshomaru doesn't understand how your relationship with this father's concerns him."

"This mother of yours is getting to the part with him too, but he's too stupid to understand if I don't provide a background, he must learn! As I was saying, Sesshomaru was adorable at the beginning, but then he started crying all the time and intrude on us on so many times, that it wasn't fun anymore and did you know how hard is to raise a pup? I'm sure you'll shortly find out yourself…So I and Toga had to find other places for ourselves, but then we were out of the castle which meant no one was watching so we were free to do whatever we wanted, damn with the politics! Enough years had passed at that point that no one cared anymore, we had a heir anyway, so it wasn't a problem if we were with someone else. They all knew we weren't in real love…and to be honest, at that point, we had already tried everything together and had grown bored of one another. We needed something new in our life. And that's when Toga fell in love with your mother and you appeared."

"This Sesshomaru still doesn't see your point in giving us all the details of your relationship." Sesshomaru said obviously blushing while Inuyasha was red as his clothes and trying his best to look anywhere but at Kimi or Sesshomaru.

Kimi, however, was too wrapped up in her happy memories to mind or even care about everyone's discomfort.

They finally reached the entrance. The path through the garden had been long. 'Too long.'Inuyasha thought rocking his baby and thinking that he will need to feed him soon.

"This mother of yours knows why he should know the story and that's enough. Now because your mind has slightly developed more due to the acquired information, I can't call you half bread anymore, it sounds disgraceful. Hmm, would Toga pup two work for you?"

"My name is Inuyasha."

"Toga pup two it is."

"Mother, please…" Sesshomaru tried to reason when the doors suddenly opened.

A tall lady with long brown hair and black piercing eyes appeared, dressed in a long blue kimono that had the crescent moon's symbol on the shoulder. Upon seeing her, Sesshomaru mentally slapped his face.

"Oh, no, no…"

"GRUMPY puppy!" The woman shouted excited upon seeing Sesshomaru, than bowed in Kimi's direction. "Welcome back, My lady."

"Nice to be back, Akira. Sesshomaru, you do remember Lady Akira? Last time you were here, she was away with some urgent business for me, so she missed you."

"Humf."

"Oh, grumpy puppy, don't tell me you forgot me? I've raised you!" Akira lectured him.

"Humf. This Sesshomaru's name is Sesshomaru. I'm no pup."

"I'm glad you remember me, Maru, but you still sound like a very grumpy puppy. Now, who are our new guests? Kimi didn't tell me anything and just mentioned Sesshomaru's bringing allies to our pack." Akira enquired with curiosity.

'Why did I think this was a safe place? It's definitely not a safe place for me here…' Sesshomaru thought as he mentally slapped himself again.

* * *

_* Akira - bright and intelligent_

**Cstorm86** \- A lovely review can never be late to the party! Your review made my day because I thought no one enjoyed the latest chapter, especially after such a long hiatus. So thank you! Hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

**Ember Reverie** \- I like his mother too, she's really fun to write and a very interesting character. Hope you enjoyed this chapter with her and spoiler no spoiler, next one has her too.

It's interesting to read a fresh view on Narumi, so no worries. I'm still working on her character. She is indeed quite direct and tends to order Kohaku around. Probably comes from being the village chief's daughter.

Yeah, poor Kaede. Like others, she didn't quite get a choice in everything. Maybe we'll see how she's doing in future chapters. Thanks for the double review, hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**Talawolfgirl** \- Oh, you sure are right, I mean, you read this chapter. Hope it was a pleasant read, though. Thanks for the review.

Any questions about the plot, leave a comment or PM and happy to either clarify in future chapters or come back to you with the answer :)

Take care, until next time!


	8. Chapter 8

Hello everyone :)

Due to your lovely reviews I decided to surprise you with another quick chapter update, but after this, I'll come back to the every two-week updates. **Thank you to everyone** who has added the story to favourites and is following it and for taking time to comment! You make me so happy :)

Also, **don't forget, if you haven't**: this story got nominated to the 2020 2nd Quarterly Inuyasha Fandom Awards, run by FeudalConnection, for BEST DRAMA. Voting is in process, so if you really like this story, you can now show your appreciation by voting for it. Just google for FeudalConnection and look for the voting link or PM me for details. Thank you.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**New acquaintances: friends or enemies?**

"You've been really lucky, priestess Kaede. Lord Masao and Lady Chika might be fierce and severe, but they are honourable and powerful rulers and if you follow their orders, they will provide you with a decent life. What happens if they no longer need you, that's still something I myself haven't found out yet, as I will have the same faith as you". An old man in a long priest robe and black-greyish hair said while sipping his tea and enjoying his dinner.

"We might have different definitions on luck then, priest Haru. I've been called to help urgently in the neighborhood village and left with the person who informed me about all this, just to find out on the way there from him that all this was a lie and he needed to get me out of the village. Moreover, he wanted to recruit me for his demon slayer village at which point I was just starring at him considering to purify him in case he was a fox demon playing a bad joke on an old woman like me. But then it got worse: I got surrounded by multiple other slayers who were going to take me to their village whether if I liked it or not!" Kaede explained while eating her dinner as well.

They were sharing a medium modestly decorated living room that had access to two separate bedrooms, their accommodation and a common indoor bathroom with hot springs. The room also opened to a small garden surrounded by high fences with spears where a gentle river was flowing and beautiful flowers were growing. However, there was no exit to the outside world aside from the door to the living room, that was made out of metal bars.

"Please priestess Kaede, we've been working together for two days now and probably many too come, call me Haru."

"Then you shall address me with Kaede only. As I was saying, I got surrounded by these strangers who were just about to drag me wherever they wanted, when out of the blue, they all get slayed right in front of me. One swift and well-aimed blow and all, I think five-six slayers, got cut in two, killed before they even had a chance to react. I honestly thought that was my end too, but the demon who killed them promised he will spare me in exchange for my service. And told me it wasn't a question, it was an order."

"Lord Masao told me the same thing when he kidnapped me from my temple. And threatened to kill the villagers if I tried attacking him or not obeying his order. I don't want innocent lives to be taken, so I must comply with what he wants."

"I almost had a heart attack! Ever since my friends destroyed Naraku, things have been pretty calm and nothing out of the ordinary had happened. And now this! I was told a war is about to break and I was negotiated and given to Lord Masao. At my age, never had I thought I would live to see a human vs demons war, nor that I would be valuable enough to be taken as a prisoner for my experience and even relationship to my sister who was a powerful priestess. Is Lord Masao some kind of bird demon?"

"A hawk. And Lady Chika an eagle demon."

"Oh! Predatory bird demons…"

"And full-blooded ones, very powerful and influential. They know many others, and altogether have formed this alliance in which we ended up as trading goods. How despicable!"

"Full-blooded? Hmm, one of my friends happens to have a full demon brother who is also friends with the girl I'm living with. You know a lot about this war, Haru and seem willing to help, yet it's the first time I hear you insult those demons."

"Full demon? Do you know his name? I need to be respectable if I value my life, Kaede. And the walls have ears, so I…we must be careful. I learnt at what hours I have to keep my mouth and when I can speak my mind because the area close to us is not populated. Lord Masao and Lady Chika are my masters now and although they have offered me a good accommodation, a garden to pray and three decent meals, I'm still a prisoner. And have been for the past year. I've come to learn a lot, even from them. I'm sure you'll learn too, you seem like an intelligent woman."

"It comes with the age." Kaede smiled. "The demon's name's Sesshomaru.

"YOU KNOW SESSHOMARU? Fierce and merciless demon, with a strong bloodline and heir of Inu No Taisho's legacy and power?!"

"Yes, I know him. I'm friends with his brother."

"Incredible! Any chance they can help us out or negotiate our freedom back?!"

"I don't think so…I don't even know if his brother noticed I'm missing."

"Oh…"

"We shall live and see…"

"Indeed. But for now, let's continue playing our role in this war if we value our lives or at least the ones we care for."

* * *

"Akira, this is Toga puppy two, a half-demon, Sesshomaru's half-brother, you know, the one he had while we got bored of each other and…"

"We know, we know!" Inuyasha and Sesshomaru both snapped, earning a red angry glare from Kimi and giggles from Akira.

"How disrespectful! Don't make me teach you two a lesson."

"Toga had another son? How delightful. He looks adorable. Do his ears move? Can he talk?"

"I'm not a primitive beat, of course I can talk. My name is Inuyasha…and yes, my ears can move."

"They are not decorative?" Kimi asked as intrigued as Akira.

"Wonderful, a half-demon at our palace! Can I touch those ears?" Akira clapped her hands.

"I'm intrigued, I kind of want to touch them too…" Kimi said thoughtfully.

"Absolutely no, stay away from my ears. Who are you?" Inuyasha asked stepping back feeling uncomfortable.

"Oh, no, did Maru not mention me? My name is Akira and I'm the one who took care of grumpy Maru while his parents were away, well with business, you all know the story now…I and Lady Kimi have been friends ever since she took me into her home when I was in my teen years. My family abandoned me because they were waiting for a son instead of a daughter. Since I brought shame to my family, they abandoned me in the woods and I've been on my own until she found me. Lady Kimi found me before she and Toga met and I've been her loyal friend and confident ever since. I'm a hawk full demon and my only family left is a distant cousin from the East. But he refuses to acknowledge me and myself him, so we're good. Now, enough about me, who are the rest of the people here?"

"This is my mate, Kagome and this is our son Kitaro. And that's Rin." Inuyasha pointed.

"It's delightful to meet you all. What a lovely family you have! Finally some entertainment at our palace. And a baby, I love babies!"

"Rin's not my…" Inuyasha tried saying, but was cut by Jaken who suddenly addressed his lord intrigued:

"Lord Sesshomaru, you never told me you were raised by a hawk demon."

"Shut up, Jaken." Sesshomaru hit him.

"Oh, Sesshomaru, I didn't notice there's another companion you brought. Who is he?"

"He's a little demon, Lasy Akira, Sesshomaru's loyal servant." Kimi told her before Jaken had a chance to recover from the hit and answer himself.

"I see. Well, I prefer the cute baby there. Can I play with the baby? It's been such a long time since we had one at the castle, don't you think Kimi?"

"Oh yes, I would love to at least this little pup's ears."

"No." Inuyasha said promptly gathering his arms protectively around Kitaro and growling at the two women.

"How rude." Akira said pouting.

"That wasn't a question." Kimi suddenly said viciously.

"MOTHER, stop, we talked about this!" Sesshomaru shouted, but it was too late.

Before Inuyasha realised what was happening, Kimi was in front of him. She forcefully took one of his arms away from the baby while breaking in the process, so she could grab his son. Kitaro started willing when he saw he was being taken away from his father. Inuyasha tried to attack back in order to save his son, but the demoness was incredibly fast and managed to kick him hard on the ground, pushing her feet on his chest. She managed to break some ribs, making Inuyasha gasp for air.

Sesshomaru appeared in front of his mother annoyed and trying to stop her but she grabbed his son's sword and dismissively kicked his feet off the ground, finally releasing Inuyasha. Kimi's son lost balance and fell down. Inuyasha, in the meantime, got up despite his pain and tried to attack, but Kimi stabbed him with the sword on the ground to keep him from moving. Sesshomaru then got up, but his mother grabbed him by the throat and threw him on Inuyasha who was just trying to stand up.

Jaken was gaping stupefied, Rin was scared and hiding behind Ah-Un while Akira didn't seem fazed at all by her friend's display of power. Kitaro was crying and trying to bite and claw the woman who took him away. Kimi seemed like she was just getting started.

"See, Akira, that's how you do it if you want something. I promised Sesshomaru I won't attack their family once they're in their part of the palace, but since they're not there yet, might as well have some fun with those two before I can play with those tiny half-demon years." Kimi said amused just as she was about to fight the Inu siblings again, but she didn't get the chance.

Her left side of the body suddenly started to ache as if little, yet sharp knives were piercing her skin deeply while burning it at the same time.

"AHHH!" She screamed horrified as she'd never felt something similar before and fell down, dropping the baby.

However, Kitaro never reached the ground because he was grabbed by gentle, yet powerful arms.

"Oh, my!" Akira gasped and came in an instant at her friend's side while staring at the woman with piercing brown eyes that mere seconds ago had launched at Kimi a blast of blue light on her side, away from the baby.

"Don't you dare hurt my mate or my son or I'll make you pay again!" Kagome threatened while taking a protective fierce stance in front of Inuyasha.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha shouted and got up to hug her with his unbroken arm while also inspecting his son from his wife's arms for any injuries.

"Inuyasha, are you OK? You have a hole in your stomach! And your arm…" Kagome turned to him deeply concerned but with her arm still up in Kimi's direction.

"I'm OK, they barely sting, and they will heal in a couple of hours. Are you OK? How are you feeling? Is Kitaro OK? I'm sorry, she caught me off guard and even landed a few good kicks on Sesshomaru!"

"Oh, on Sesshomaru?!" Kagome spared a quick look at the older Inu who was just getting up. "Glad he's not the reason you have a hole through your stomach this time. Kitaro looks fine, just scared and a bit shaken."

Kimi's initial annoyed glance and attempt to fight back changed upon inspecting the woman more. She was indeed an interesting human, yet powerful priestess who was ready to protect her family. Kimi's curiosity overcame her intention to get revenge and teach her a lesson. And the still tingling pain that she would have never admitted feeling.

"Interesting…what a fierce warrior we have." She commented instead, trying to compose herself as she got up, dismissing Akira's help although she needed it.

"And a priestess too! This will certainly be fun! I've never thought I'll see one so close." Akira agreed eyeing Kagome as if she were an exhibit in a museum.

Rin and Jaken ran next to Sesshomaru who was absolutely annoyed by his mother's behaviour 'towards this Sesshomaru'. He knew she tended to be harsh, but this... When she was bored, especially, she turned to be pretty reckless. Kagome seemed to have earned some respect from the two demonesses and calmed her down. For now.

Inuyasha kept his good arm around Kagome but continued to watch Kimi and Akira with anger in his eyes. Sesshomaru matched his glare, sitting closely on his right side. Kitaro wasn't crying anymore and was content to be back in his mother's arms. Seeing that things seemed to have calmed down, Kagome finally let herself relax a bit, but then she suddenly noticed the foreign surroundings.

"Where am I? What is happening?"

"It's a long story, I'll fill you in, but for now, I'll appreciate if we'll be taken to our safe quarters." Inuyasha said trying to keep his voice steady and looking unintentionally to his brother for approval.

"I agree for once with you brother." Sesshomaru nodded puffing.

The two demonesses seemed thrilled by the two growling and annoyed inus, but respected their request. Finally, everyone made their way inside the palace.

_*Haru-Light,sun_

_Masao-right, proper_

_Chika-filled with wisdom, scattered flowers_

* * *

**Ember Reverie** \- as long as it's somehow related to the story, I'm happy to listen to your runt, it was an interesting opinion. Since there's not much mentioned about Sesshomaru's mother and Inu no Taisho's relationship, I kind of followed indeed the fandom's idea that it was a political marriage. However, what I tried to show in the previous chapter were two things: one, that Kimi doesn't have any hard feelings for her husband or his wife and thus doesn't have a problem with Inuyasha (aside from him being half-demon) and two, that she and Toga had a good and enjoyable relationship. This applies at least for this story. I'll agree with you, I don't think he abandoned his family. In this story, for example, as the plot will show, Sesshomaru's the way he is because he just takes after his mother's personality more. If he does have a problem with his father, it hasn't been said yet.

Sorry for the long reply, you raised an interesting topic of discussion :)

Yeah, he has a hard time with those two demonesses who can't wait to pick on him. And wait till his nanny finds out Rin's actually kind of his daughter. Bet Kimi didn't tell her about Rin much. Glad you found this chapter funny, thanks for taking time to review :)

**Talawolfgirl** \- Thank you so much! Hope this chapter made your wish come true regarding Kagome ;-) More about her to come.

**Cstorm86** \- Aww, thank you, you're so kind. Yeah, the Inu siblings heard too many details and at least Inuyasha heard the story for the first time, but not Sesshomaru. I wanted to highlight that Kimi doesn't have any hard feelings towards Toga or Inuyasha (other than that his half-breed) and thought a family story was the best way. And yeah, definitely, they're two grumpy boys.

**Shoesarecool** \- Yes, I know I kept Kagome unconscious for quite a while (almost two days), but she did use a great amount of power. And now she's back and you were right, she's confused. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and more about Kagome now awake in future chapters.

**saraharista36** \- You're welcome! I try keeping the chapters the same length because I don't always have time to write them longer. The longest one was more a sorry for unexpected hiatus, but from now on, they should be about the same size. As I said, I'll try to update every two weeks, but no promises because when life gets busy, it gets busy.

**Alannada** \- Glad it's memorable :)) Let's hope Kimi remembers it, she doesn't put a lot of effort in remembering people's names.

**Thank you everyone really, really much** for all those lovely reviews and for taking time to write them! I'm so happy whenever I see them and make me want to write moooore! THANK YOU!

Wish you all a lovely week! Don't forget to vote :)

Take care, until next time!


	9. Chapter 9

Hello everyone! Sorry for late update, I haven't been feeling very well lately and work's been really busy too, so, yeah, great fun for me :))** Thank you for all your lovely reviews, follows and favourites**, replies to reviews at the end as usual.

Next update in two weeks if all good.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Allies settling in**

_Chapter dedicated to my loyal lovely reviewers: saraharista36, Shoesarecool, Talawolfgirl, Alannada and Cstorm86_

"So, we're war prisoners?"

"Yes, monk."

"And we're prisoners because we've been negotiated like trading goods."

"Yes, slayer. You were lucky Lord Koga managed to get your family together, so be grateful and enjoy your new accommodation."

"What about me?"

"You're a full fox demon, you're free to take your own decisions, but since you haven't until now, you're our prisoner now too. A bonus, I must say."

The wolf demon general with red hair and piercing green eyes looked with arrogance at the group of humans, now living with the wolf tribe in the new den, an enormous cave with many tunnels. It was hidden between mountains with sharp rocks and surrounded by fast rivers and waterfalls, all noise perfectly covered from praying ears. Miroku and Sango were given a place to live in one of the large tunnels that opened to a big cave with five-six other mini-caves, one being an indoor warm hot spring. They had their kids with them, Kirara and Shippo and even Kohaku and Narumi who were still sleeping.

"Enough, Sho. I had a long way, a long night to walk and have been helping everyone settling in. I've put you to give them a small background, but hearing you, I bet you made us sound like a bunch of merciless tyrants who have enslaved the poor humans and we'll treat them like garbage."

"They are our prisoners…"

"Please Sho, just live me with them, your sister and the duo warriors are asking for you anyway and you need to have a look around too."

"Are you sure you'll be safe with them?"

"We're friends and I need to clarify some things with them before they start considering me their enemy."

Sango bit her tongue from saying 'We were friends'.

"As you wish, brother in law. See you around."

Sho was just about to leave but then turned around and added:

"You've done great. Thank you."

Koga nodded and then turned to his so-called friends.

"Try to push aside all your murderous thoughts and please give me a chance to explain to you what's happening. I apologise if I've been rude at some point, but after you'll hear me out, maybe you'll understand my behaviour better."

Koga outstretched his hand in a gesture of peace. Miroku sighed and clasped it while Sango didn't even want to look at him. She focused her attention on her kids who started running around and rocked her baby.

"Speak…" She muttered listening, but avoiding eye contact. Her husband was much better at diplomacy then herself.

"Has Sho already told you about the war?"

"Yes, he told us humans are demons are about to go at war and we're here to help you with our skills…"

"…otherwise he'll eat us while we're still alive and screaming." Sango finished her husband's sentence. "He could have avoided threats with gory details in front of our children."

"Oh, Sho doesn't have children and doesn't understand those things. Plus, we're wild demons, we're not good at avoiding those details, we want our cubs to grow strong and not puny. Anyway, I'm sorry if he's overdone it."

"Why didn't you ask us to help you instead of all this secrecy? Was getting us away from the slayer village your way of getting you 'trade goods' back?"

"You're smart, monk. Yes, that was part of my plan, but if it wouldn't have been for Shippo, I wouldn't have come after you. I thought you were in the village safe, but then Shippo told me about the incident with…with your friends and when I asked about you he told me you were in a different village. The worse village to go to."

"It was none of your business where we were going or since you bought us, you had to know where we are." Sango snapped.

"Look, I had no choice! Sho was right, you could have gone separately, I negotiated to get both of you and it was really hard to do so."

"How come we don't have a saying in all this?"

"Because you're puny humans. I mean I know you two particularly are skilled and powerful, but the people I negotiated with are first class demons that come from such old families that their ancestors have probably even met God. Like mutt's brother Sesshomaru. Pure blooded demons with power and influence that humans like you have no choice in. If they…If we have decided we need human resources to have an advantage against the humans in this war then we'll take human resources. And since your group is particularly famous because you destroyed Naraku, you were one of the most wanted prizes."

"How come you didn't get Inuyasha and Kagome too?" Shippo asked in a tiny voice.

"I wished I could, but since the mutt's brother was in the council, it was a dead end from the beginning. The least I could do was to get you two."

"So you negotiated to get us in order to use our skill and power to give you an advantage in the war. And even if we want or not to help, you'll make us." Miroku concluded eyeing Koga carefully.

"You make me sound like a tyrant. I won't force you if you really don't want to help, but then I'll have to release you and I'm sure the other demons from the network won't be as 'friendly' as I am."

"What if we maybe wanted to help the human side?"

"The demon side wouldn't have allowed it, you're too valuable. They would have rather killed you. There's no neutral ground in this war."

"We're not anyone's valuables! We should have a choice in this, I CAN FIGHT YOU!" Sango shouted raising her voice. The baby in her arms started crying and her twins stopped looking worried at her mother. Miroku placed his arm gently on her shoulder trying to comfort her.

"Sango, I know you're pissed off on me for dragging you and your family against your will here. As the friend I call myself to be, I could have at least given you some kind of heads up, but I didn't have time. I apparently kidnapped the chief's daughter, the same chief who is the cause we now have this damn war and I indirectly declared war through this action. I had to take my pack in a much safer place and drag you with me because although I traded you like goods, you are my goods and you're under my protection. This means that you're in my care and in exchange for you helping me, I can offer you and your family a safe place to live during this war. Take it or leave, but if you chose the latter, you'll definitely get killed. Even by my pack. I can't stop them from attacking you now that you know our location and since you would be of no use for use, they'll be more than happy to get rid of you. You're my friends, not theirs."

"I think it would be wise if for now we stay here and accept your 'hospitality'." Miroku admitted trying to remain calm. Sango was already riled up and arguing wouldn't help. He now understood that they didn't have a choice, especially since they had to consider the safety of their children too.

"Good. I'll give you more instructions on how you can help once we're all settled in this new place. In the meantime, I'll leave those two teens in your care. Any other questions?"

"You will act towards us as friends as you continue calling us or as allies?" Shippo asked curious.

"I want us to be friends and I probably contradict myself saying this, but I'll try my best to treat you like human beings than valuable goods. But for this, I will need your cooperation and understanding, otherwise I will have no choice and will have to change my relationship with you. I have a family myself and I don't want to make your situation harder than it already is…"

"You have kids?" Miroku enquired.

"Twins, a girl and a boy. My duo warriors. If you don't mind, I'm happy to let them play with your kids. Ayame will be thrilled and maybe Sho will start being nicer to you."

"Sho?"

"Sho's my general, my left hand and Ayame's older brother."

"OK."

The two males turned in Sango's direction who had been trying to comfort her distressed kids.

"I have nothing against your kids, they can come to play with ours, I'm happy to chat with Ayame and even give her jerk brother a chance, but I don't want any more secrets and I'll take your word you'll make sure we'll be safe."

"I promise." 'I promise you Kagome…and even to the mut I'll take good care of your friends' Koga added for himself.

"Then we have a deal." Sango said outstretching her hand and Koga shook it smiling.

"What are I and Miroku supposed to do to help?"

"As I said, I'll instruct you later. I have a meeting tonight with all the demon network."

"You look thrilled." Shippo said grinning.

"Of course I do, I have to talk and listen to pompous demons like Sesshomaru…" 'Which reminds me, he owes me an explanation about Kagome and Inuyasha's death.' Koga thought. Then he left to see how the other members of his pack were doing.

"Sango, I know I've been pretty friendly, but I don't like this situation more than you do. But as he said, we don't have a choice. I prefer Koga as a friend rather than an enemy and I trust he'll keep his word and take care of us as friends and not war prisoners."

"Same. If Kagome has seen something good in him, then we should trust her and believe that having Koga take us as goods was the best thing that could have happened for us in this war."

"Yeah, I mean imagine Sesshomaru could have taken us. I bet he would have eaten us!" Shippo added terrified.

"Yes, indeed. For now, we should be grateful and get used to the situation."

"You're right."

"I'll check on the kids, give me Daisuke and you can see how the teens are feeling. We forgot to ask Koga what he used to knock them down."

"More questions!" Shippo said with his hands dramatically on his head.

"We'll ask next time my dear Sango, next time. Come on Shippo, you look a bit sad, join me play with the kids."

"I was thinking about Inuaysha and Kagome…"

"They will always be in our memories…" Miroku said tearily.

"Yes…" Sango agreed trying to hold her tears as she went to check on her brother and his fiancée.

_*** (Author note: at Koga's den was already the next day while the following action happened the night before)_

* * *

"Oh wow, a lot has happened while I was unconscious." Kagome said when Inuyasha finished telling her everything that had happened and all the information he learnt about the war.

They were finally in their safe quarters, somewhere in the East wing of the castle. They had a separate mansion that had spacious rooms. The biggest one was a kitchen-living room-dining room, with a fire-place in the middle, various kitchen essentials on one half and comfortable seats on the other. The room was connected to five medium sized bedrooms, out of which two of them had a shoji door between them and a different one was filled with clean clothes, sheets and towels. Those connected rooms were where Inuyasha and Kagome were sleeping and next to them the kids.

Rin had insisted (more like pleaded) to be allowed to sleep in the same room with Kitaro as she was afraid to be on her own and didn't care if he'll wake her up during the night. Inuyasha and Kagome had agreed, but told her there might be nights in which Kitaro might be sleeping with them (like this one). Rin didn't mind as she knew the rooms were connected.

Aside from those rooms, there was also a sixth room that was an indoor bathroom with hot springs. Also they had an attic where they could store stuff. Then they had a private large garden that led to an outdoor hot spring.

The mansion was surrounded by a fence recently built in order to mark their quarters. Then there was also the castle fence, but slightly further away. The mansion was connected to the castle through a long open corridor starting from their house porch. It had in the middle a small gate to, again, signal the different territory. Inuyasha and his family were welcomed in the castle 'at their own risk' according to Kimi.

The mansion used to be a guest house. They had another four in each wing of the castle.

After everyone had dinner, Rin went to bed in her room not saying much, while Inuyasha, Kagome and Kitaro were sharing the same bed for the night. The two young parents were still worried and unsettled to leave their baby alone, especially after such an eventful two days. Kitaro fell asleep almost immediately, cuddled safely on Kagome's chest. His parents, however, were awake and discussing the current events. Inuyasha was sitting on his side with his head on his palm, watching his wife and son. Kagome was also slightly turned on her side, facing him, while keeping a hand on Kitaro. Their free hands were intertwined.

* * *

*_Sho- prize, reward_

_ Daisuke - Impressive or great help_

**Thank you to the wonderful people who took time to review.** I greatly appreciate them and love reading every single one of them ^_^ They motivate me to continue writing and to come back to the fic.

**Talawolfgirl** Yes, Kagome's back! :) Thank you, hope the chapter didn't disappoint. More on InuKag next chapter.

**Shoesarecool** Me too! Nobody messed with Kagome :)

**saraharista36** Awww, your comment was so sweet, thank you very, very kindly! Yes, I did, been meaning to write a book for years, but it's not an easy task to put your mind to. Fanfiction is more stimulating because you get people's reviews and it's like a thumbs up that you're doing right, but I wish one day to publish my own book. Thanks a lot for reminding me about it, your comment really touched me 3 Glad you like it, hope this one didn't disappoint either. Take care too!

**Cstorm86** YEEES, my Kagome is a fighter and demon no demon that's her family and no one messed with them. Yes, she earned their respect and drew their attention in a good way.

**Agauger** Yes, I love the ears. It's my no 2 priority for the next sequel, to see some InuKag babies with ears ! Happy you're enjoying the story. Yes, Kagome's back and more about her and Inuyasha next chapter.

For those interested, I didn't win the fic competition, but I THANK YOU all who voted for my fic. I am really thankful :)

Until next time, take care Inu fans!


	10. Chapter 10

So, hello everyone! Yes, I'm alive, just work's keeping me busy. Your reviews remind me that there are still people enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it, so shout out to Alannada, Cstorm86 and itzatakahashi. **Thanks for the reviews**.

Next update date is uncertain, but I won't give up on this story, especially due to my followers, favourites and reviewers. **You remind me to continue, so don't forget to review ;-)**

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 10 - Family worries**

"Indeed, a lot has happened while you were unconscious and the weirdest of all is that I think Sesshomaru has actually started caring. He now calls me brother, agrees with me, gave me a second kid although I'm awful with my current one…"

"Stop that, Inuyasha, you know that's not true!" Kagome said tugging his hand with hers. "You're not an awful father! It's not your fault all these things have happened. You told me yourself that this war is bigger than us and we're just being used!"

"It was my duty to protect you!"

"And you did just fine!"

"Bullshit, we got attacked, almost killed, threatened and my son almost got kidnapped by Sesshomaru's crazy mother."

"But now we're fine! We're alive and speaking of, how are your wounds?"

"My arm is fine and the other wound is almost healed, you didn't have to use your powers to speed the healing even more, you should have focused only on your wounds you got from that horrible night….You've grown so much and learnt how to use your powers so well. We're fine and alive because of you, Kagome. You're incredible." Inuyasha told her while leaning closer to place a kiss on her forehead. He let go of her hand and hugged her gently making sure not to squash their baby in the process.

"Hmm, thank you." Kagome murmured blushing and returning the hug. "But we're a team, so we're alive because of both of us. I've been asleep most of the time, you can't give me all the credits."

"Yeah, but you were awake when it was needed." Inuyasha let go of Kagome with a deep sighed and returned to his previous position.

"And you were there all the time to make sure I and Kitaro are safe. Don't blame yourself because of the villagers and Sesshomaru's mother, there were both unexpected events. I'm proud of you for standing up to those meanies Toga Pup two…"

"Kagome, it was my…how did you just call me?"

Kagome burst into laughing.

"Kagome, this is not funny, that woman tried to kidnap our son."

"And I burnt her, checkmate. If what you're saying is true, then all she actually wanted to do was play with his ears which is unacceptable. I made this kid, I get to play with the ears."

"We made this kid. What's this fetish that everyone has for the ears?!"

"I can't help it, they're adorable!" Kagome said smiling while she gently touched one of her son's ears. It twitched earning a squeal from the young mother which was half-muffled by Inuyasha's hand.

"Shh, you're going to wake him up and Rin too. I know what you're doing here trying to distract me from blaming myself…" Inuyasha said taking his hand from her mouth.

"And is it working?"

"Partly. It won't take my guilt away though…"

"Then let me help you take it away…" Kagome replied seductively. She gently moved Kitaro next to her on the bed and then launched into Inuyasha to kiss him.

Inuyasha was surprised, but pleased and let himself melt in her sweet kiss and embrace until he felt her hands on his sides…mercifully starting to tickle him.

"What the…"

Inuyasha lost balanced and was now on his back while Kagome quickly climbed on top of him and continued to mercifully tickle him.

"So that's how you want to play." Inuyasha smirked and in one swift motion he rolled with Kagome so that now she was the one on her back.

"Inuyasha, no, PLEASE, NOOOO…" Kagome begged between her muffled laugh.

She tried in vain to escape or move his hands away, but it was useless. She bit her tongue trying not to laugh too loud but it was hard. Inuyasha's hands finally stopped allowing her to breath. He leaned close and their noses touch before he kissed her sweetly. Inuyasha then put his head on her chest and was content listening to her heartbeat while he knew very well that she'll immediately go for his ears. Which is what happened. Kagome was stroking his ears contently.

"I know you blame yourself for not doing a better job at protecting us, but I'm grateful regardless of what you think, so thank you Inuyasha for keeping our little family safe." Kagome said and placed a kiss between his now twitching ears. "I also need to thank Sesshomaru for saving us too."

"I can't believe he saved us. I thought he'd done it because Rin was with us, but from what he was asking me it seemed obvious he didn't know she was living with us that night. I didn't have the guts to ask him if he went hunt Kaede after saving us to repay her for her poor pupsitting service."

"Inuyasha! Don't say such things. Kaede went to help people and was aware taking Rin with her was a higher risk than leaving her with us. She made the right choice, she couldn't have known things would take such an ugly turn. This only means Sesshomaru would have chosen us as guardians for Rin anyway. And I've already told you, I've asked Sesshomaru for his help before I blacked out. Yes, I wasn't very happy to wake up and hear my mate and baby crying…"

"I wasn't crying…"

"Silent crying…"

"I wasn't crying, I was just about to teach Kimi a lesson."

"Mute crying and I just attacked. Happy to help you."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Excuse me…"

Inuyasha and Kagome turned and saw Rin near the now open door. Being distracted by Kagome, Inuyasha only know noticed the little girl. Having a better eyesight, he noticed the girl seemed troubled, with tears in her eyes and shaky hands.

"I'm sorry, I…I'll go back, sorry…"

"It's fine Rin, we were awake. Did we wake you up? What is it?"

"No, I had a nightmare…Rin is just a bit scared…"

"Don't worry kid, we're all afraid of Sesshomaru's big bad mother…"

"Inuyasha, you're not helping!" Kagome complained and handed him Kitaro. Then she made a gesture to the place next to her inviting Rin to come over which she happily did.

"That too, but I heard of the war and this new place and Rin is scared."

"It's OK to be scared, but you're not alone. You have us and Sesshomaru and I'm sure once his mother gets to know us better, she will seem less scary." Kagome comforted her patting her on the back.

"She told me she might eat me accidentally especially if I call her grandmother. And I'm not sure how I feel about Sesshomaru being my father, I mean Rin likes Sesshomaru but we never gave a name to our relationship and this Rin likes it the way it is. I mean, I don't even know what a daughter is supposed to do…or a heir…I lost my parents at a young age and ever since I kind of grew on my own and survived due to the villager's pity and when Lord Sesshomaru, I mean Sesshomaru, he told me it's fine to call him like that and even that it's still new to this Rin, so when Sesshomaru saved me we just kind of did our own thing and I followed him and Rin wants things to go back, but now with this war Rin doesn't think things could go back to normal… " Rin said breathless from speaking so fast. Kagome barely managed to keep up with the girl's words.

"This Inuyasha will have to teach you to speak like normal beings and not pompous bastards…" Inuaysha mumbled, but Kagome must have heard him because he earned a furious glare from her.

"She won't as long as you don't get out of this mansion and stay close with us. We'll protect you and Sesshomaru won't let her attack you either. And about you and Sesshomaru's relationship, he probably thinks the same, but he needed to give a name to your relationship in order to protect you, OK?"

"Ihm. Thank you, Lady Kagome."

"Kagome is fine."

"Kagome…Kimi-sama did attack me before when we were at this castle. I understood later that Sesshomaru had a test and Rin was part of this test, but I died."

"Oh.." Kagome gasped.

"-_-" Inuaysha made a face, but then added. "Look Rin, my brother might be an asshole…"

"Inuya…"

"…but he really cares for you. He wouldn't have gone through the trouble of accepting me and my family if it weren't for you, so he must really care for you which means you shouldn't worry. He won't let anything hurt you and neither will we. So, I guess, thanks, because of you, we all have a better chance of living through this war."

"Thank you Lord…"

"Inuyasha is fine, seriously pup."

"Thank you Inuyasha, thank you Kagome!" Rin said her usual smile finally returning to her face. "I think Rin can finally go back to sleep after this."

"Rin, if you want, you can sleep with us. We're pretty nervous ourselves about sleeping in this new place, so it's fine."

Rin's eyes rounded and considered denying, but Kagome gave Inuyasha an elbow.

"Yes, pup, ehh, Rin you can stay with us, just go grab your blanket, Kagome's a blanket thief. Ouch, stop doing that, Kagome."

Rin giggled watching Kagome elbow Inuyasha and then run to get her blanket. Then she cuddled on Kagome's left side. Kagome rested her head on Inuyasha's arm and Inuyasha put Kitaro back on his mother's chest. The three of them fell asleep under Inuyasha's protective and loving gaze.

They will go through this new situation together. As a family.

* * *

** Alannada** You're welcome! Thanks for sticking with this story. Yes, they should be fine under Koga's protection and as part of his team.

** Cstorm86** Thanks :) Yeah, you never know were it goes next. Hope it never disappoints or chases to surprise you ;-)

** itzatakahashi** Awww, thank you, your review really made my day. Been meaning to update, but didn't get a chance. I'm really, really glad you like it. Yeah, Koga's just, well, trying to be a good leader for his pack which is not always equal with being a good friend. In a short time, he had to learn a lot, adapt and change according to the situation. Yeah, he had to kidnap them to save them if that makes sense, but he needed them as much as they kind of need him at this point….Koga's trying his best, but Kagome's death and even Inuyasha's has really affected him and he's trying to keep his mind busy with the current situation. Anyway, sorry for ranting, hope you enjoyed this new chapter.

Thank you for all the new reviews, follows and favourites! And thank you to those who are still fans of the story.

Until next time, take care everyone!


	11. Chapter 11

Hello everyone! Early update because less busy week! This was supposed to be about the demon meeting, but I ended up taking a different route. Maybe next time I'll get there.

**Thank you for the reviews, favourites and follows**. I'm always happy to see someone new is enjoying this story or there is someone still reading it or sharing their thoughts on it through reviews. You're the best and I really appreciate you taking time to read this story.

Hope you enjoy this new chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 11 Settling in with concerns**

"Do you think Miroku and Sango believe we are dead? Or Shippo? They would be heart-broken…Isn't it a way we could get in touch and let them know we're all fine? Oh and poor Kaede, she must be worried sick!"

"Yeah, worried sick for her safety thinking that any moment big bad Sesshomaru will come to kill her for not taking proper care of Rin."

"Inuyasha! I'm serious! Do you think she had any idea? What if the villagers did something to her to? I really hope not!"

The little family was sitting on the front porch. Inuyasha was lying on his back, with his eyes closed, but very awake and aware of the surroundings. Kitaro was lying on his tummy on Inuyasha's stomach, happily trying to understand the movements of his hands and feet. Now and then he was trying to bite Inuyasha's hand who was coming 'out of the nowhere' at him. However, he could tell by the scent that the hand belonged to his father so he wasn't afraid of it.

Kagome was sitting next to Inuyasha and was trying to teach Rin some modern games with the hands, like rock paper scissors, thumb war, red hands and so on. For a 10 year old one, Rin was a fast learner and loved Kagome's entertaining games even if she wasn't always wining them. She was content someone was giving her attention, especially Kagome who she highly respected and admired, mostly because she was one of the few female role models she knew. The others either hated her (women villagers weren't very chatty with her because of her relationship with Sesshomaru) or were just not someone 'this Rin' would have considered a 'role model' or someone to take after - no offence to Kaede, from which Rin was grateful to learn, but she wasn't exactly very chatty and much to do with and way too busy to spend time with Rin.

"Stop worrying woman, I'm sure she's fine. The villagers wouldn't kill the last priestess and healer they had in the village, they can't be that dumb. I've told you, the only reason they attacked us is because I'm a half-demon and you're married to one and had just giving birth to another one. And child over there" Gestures to Rin who pretends is distracted with fighting Kagome's thumb and not listening intently to their conversation. "…is best friends with full-bastard-demon Sesshomaru, so they definitely didn't take a liking in here either."

"Inuyasha, language! Sesshomaru's been really nice lately!" Kagome commented upset.

"Yeah, yeah, he's been a good brother, whatever. As I was saying, so I thought that's why they attacked us, but while you were unconscious in the cave, the damn bastard said…"

*angry glare from Kagome while Rin's squealing something about winning in the background*

"…I mean the good and utterly inoffensive brother said at some point that the villagers attacked us because they had to make a choice between fighting for the human or demon side and obviously, they chose the human side. Though I wouldn't be surprised they would have gladly accepted the offer of getting rid of us any day. What bugs me is how they knew I was human that night? Or how conveniently all our friends happened to be away that day…"

"Someone must have told them…or do you think someone actually planned all this series of coincidences?"

"It does sound too convenient for them that all our friends have left the village at the same time and exactly at our weakest times…" Inuyasha said briefly opening his eyes to look at Kagome's concerned look.

"Speaking of, you haven't answered. How can we get in touch with Miroku, Sango and Shippo to let them know we're fine? What if the villagers did something to them? Or worse, what if something happened on the road to Kohaku's village?"

"I'm sure they're fine and save, but I don't think we can contact them in any way. Sesshomaru was very clear that we should worry about ourselves and he doesn't have time to play messenger between us and them or waste resources on this."

"Maybe I can convince him to at least send a message…Or bringing them here would be too much? I'm sure they would be useful allies as he calls us because…"

"Kagome, I wouldn't bother, he was really set about who are his allies and who he wants under his protection. Besides, it's his mother's home and that's what they agreed on. You saw his mother, she's worse than him, so negotiating accommodating our friends is out of discussion…" 'To be honest, I'm concerned someone might attack even us despite the promises of being safe and allies…"Inuyasha thought considering their family, but didn't say it out loud in order not to give Kagome another reason to worry.

"But what if…"

"Ouch!"

"Oh, sorry Rin! Didn't mean to clap this hard!" Kagome apologised rubbing Rin's hand.

"Would you stop playing that stupid game?! If Sesshomaru sees her with red hands he'll think we beat her or something."

"This Rin apologises, she didn't actually hit me that hard! And Lady Kagome said we won't play until our hands actually go red, look, my hands have a normal colour!"

"Rin, again, you don't need to speak in third person and calling us Kagome or Inuyasha is fine, no need to add fancy titles before." Inuyasha told her dismissively and closed his eyes back.

"Oooooookeeeeey!" Rin said with enthusiasm.

"Where's Sesshomaru anyway?" Kagome asked while she started rock, paper scissors with Rin.

"He left with Jaken for the great pure-blooded demons meeting to decide this land's fate. He told me this morning right before you three woke up." Then Inuyasha added imitating Sesshomaru. "This Sesshomaru expects you to take care of Rin and stay away from this Sesshomaru's mother if you want to keep your family safe and bla, bla, bla, brother I hope you're listening, bla bla bla, stay within your quarters…bla bla bla…I'll go talk to the mighty demons and so on…".

Rin giggled while Kagome rolled her eyes amused. Inuyasha was still getting used to Sesshomaru treating him like an equal, so he wouldn't miss a chance to complain about "this Sesshomaru".

It was almost noon when Inuyasha suddenly stood up abruptly before handing Kitaro to Kagome who had been playing and chatting with Rin all this time. Hand on his sword Inuyasha started growling at the approaching guest.

"I come in peace and curiosity Toga pup two, no need to be so offensive." Akira announced as soon as the rest of the family was able to see her. She stopped right before the gate between the two territories. "May I? I just want to get to know you better, you have my word I won't cause any trouble, attack or kidnap any of you." She added upon seeing everyone's reluctant faces.

"No way in hell you're coming in…"

"Well, if you promise not to attack us…"

"Kagome! No way is she coming in!"

"But Inuyasha, she seems to have good intentions."

"Woman, go to sleep, you definitely didn't have enough sleep and your brain is making you say stupid things."

"Inuyasha, how dare you speak to me like that?! Just because the beads don't work anymore, doesn't give you any right to be a jerk to me!"

"Hey, you two, I'm still here!" Akira waved.

"Not now!" They both snapped and would have continued their fight if Kitaro wouldn't have started crying upon hearing his parent's angry voices.

"Inuyasha, she wasn't the one who attacked us yesterday, so it would be nice to give her a chance!"

"FINE, but if she tries anything, I don't care, I'm blowing her with my Wind Scar."

"Hey…still here."

"Apologise about before, you may enter." Kagome said in a sweet voice and Inuyasha imitated her annoyed at which Kagome responded by stepping on his foot.

"Thank you, apology accepted. I've brought some old toys from Sesshomaru, hope you don't mind Ayaka, she's my loyal servant and will leave immediately after she lets the toy box."

Ayaka had a long braided turquoise hair and onyx eyes and was dressed in a simple kimono with small flowers. She quickly came, left the box at the mansion entrance and left before Inuyasha barely had a chance to identify what kind of demon she could be. As if reading his mind, Akira said, gently approaching:

"She's a very rare species of demon. I believe it's called hummingbird. She was sold to us from people from a foreign land and Kimi gave her to me as a present many years ago."

"That explains her hair colour! I've seen a hummingbird before…"

"What an intelligent wife you have."

"My name is Kagome…" She outstretched her hand ignoring Inuyasha's warning growls. "…and it's a pleasure to meet you Lady Akira".

Akira slightly bowed politely in response. She was now in front of the family.

"I don't think it would be wise Kagome to touch your hand until your mate calms down. I wouldn't want to lose my hand. And Akira is fine."

They all sat down on the porch with Inuyasha next to Kagome and starring at Akira. Rin was peaking from behind Inuyasha and Kagome while Kitaro was looking curiously around.

"You have already met Toga Pup Two…" Kagome giggled.

"That's not my name…" Inuyasha growled.

"Although he prefers Inuyasha…and this is Kitaro, our baby. He's only a couple of days old. And the one hiding here is Rin."

"What a sweet family you have! And two children already although you both look so young! Naughty Toga Pup…"

*growl*

"I mean Inuyasha. He's already taking after his father! He's also very disrespectful and rude, but Kimi said we shouldn't make remarks about his intelligence and heritage since you are our new allies." Akira said smirking.

"Yes, we would really appreciate if you wouldn't be disrespectful towards our family. Inuyasha might be rude, but he's brave and strong and smarter than people give him credit for. You seem like a fine smart lady who shouldn't listen to all this prejudices about half-demons and I'm sure once you'll get to know, you will make your own assumptions." Kagome said in a serious yet friendly voice.

Inuyasha was having a hard time controlling his blush upon hearing his wife's praise.

"You are indeed a really intriguing woman, Kagome, with a great respect towards your husband and also very brave to be speaking so boldly to a demon. Calm down, Inuyasha, put the sword away…"

"Keh, you better be…"

"Don't be disrespectful young man. I wasn't making a threat, but a mere observation about your wife's speech. I'm actually impressed to see how fondly she speaks of you…you don't see every day natural enemies falling in love with one another. I mean, it's obvious you love her too, if those kids aren't proof enough."

Both Kagome and Inuyasha were blushing.

"What do you mean natural enemies?"

"I mean that you are a priestess and he is a demon, Kagome. You are supposed to fight demons and he is supposed to kill you to survive, yet you both somehow managed to grow feelings for one another. How romantic!" Akira commented clapping her hands.

"Oh, I guess…" Kagome said continuing to blush. "Also, I've been meaning to say, Rin's not exactly our child. I mean, she's like our child now because we are her guardians, but we're not biologically speaking her parents."

"This Rin is an orphan found by Sesshomaru."

"Rin…" Inuyasha said rolling his eyes.

"Oh, sorry, I am an orphan, Sesshomaru saved me…" The girl said with her eyes down coming to sit next to Kagome.

"Oh, my, grumpy puppy found you! I thought she was your first-born and Sesshomaru declared her his heir because of that. I thought he made up the whole I found this child and I'm making her my heir part. He's grown so much and taking a liking into humans just like his father, yet his attitude's definitely Kimi's!" Akira exclaimed softly. "That also explains why you speak like him, Kimi used to speak like that, but she got bored and started speaking in first person at some point."

"You know Sesshomaru?" Rin asked intrigued.

"If I knew him? Didn't you hear young lady?! I've raised him."

"Wait, so you know some embarrassing stories of him being a pup right? But please skip over the ones he runs into his parents doing…well, you know…" Inuyasha requested all of a sudden with an evil smirk.

"It would be my pleasure! Grumpy puppy was so sweet when he was small, then he just became a grumpy puppy and then he just left and never came to visit me! Let me show you his toys and tell you a couple of stories…"

"Yes!" Both Inuyasha and Rin exclaimed excited, but from different motives.

Kagome giggled and joined them to listen stories about grumpy puppy. It would be a lie to said she wasn't interested herself to hear some embarrassing stories about the mighty Sesshomaru.

* * *

_*Ayaka - colourful flower_

** itzatakahashi** \- Yeah, Rin's their 'new baby', hopefully they can handle two kids, after all they're new to parenthood. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

** Shoesarecool** \- Yeah, they're sweet! And Rin's just trying to adapt, but she's still "speaking Sesshomaru".

** Guest** \- Aww, thank you! Glad you like the story and you find it realistic! Hope this chapter didn't disappoint either.

** Thank you for reviewing this story! Your reviews make my day :)**

Have a great week and take care!

Until next time!


	12. Chapter 12

Hello, I'm alive! Finally got a chance to update, so hopefully you enjoy this new chapter. I made it longer to make up for the wait.

In case you forgot what's happening, here's a short summary of what happened until this chapter:

Inuyasha and Kagome with their newly born son Kitaro almost got killed by the villagers and are now under Sesshomaru's protection in his mother's castle.

Sango, Miroku and their children together with Shippo are under Koga's protection and they all believe Inuyasha and Kagome have been killed by the villagers.

There's a war between humans and demons about to start because some demons from the South got revenge over a village of demon slayers.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Demons meet**

"The third demon meeting is about to proceed, please take your places." A small grey rat demon announced in a high pitchy tone, earning everyone gathered irritated glare. Yet, that was his role, so the little demon gulped and continued trying to keep his voice steady. "Representing the East, Lord Masao and Lady Chika together with Lord Takoda and his son, young prince Tai from the South East and Lord Jiro of the North East. Representing the North, Lord Koga together with Lord Yuuma and Lord Asa from the North West. Representing the West, Lord Sesshomaru together with Lady Mio from Central. No demons representing the South territory."

"As if we need that troublesome butts who started this mess." Jiro muttered annoyed.

"That troublesome butts only wanted to get revenge, not start a war, but the slayers were bored and arrogant and wanted a slaying war!" Mio said sharply.

"No need to start a war between us, we already have our hands full with one." Sesshomaru commented irritated.

The ten demons forming the council were gathered around a big table, on a so-called 'neutral territory' that was always picked in a different location. This time, it was somewhere in the north-centre, where the forest stopped, and the mountain began. They were all gathered in an abandoned castle that had been prepared and thoroughly cleaned for their arrival and temporary meeting. They sat in the biggest room found, all gathered around a table. Small servants that came from each demon house attended to their needs according to their role, so Ryo would do the formalities, Jaken was taking notes and providing any necessary stationery like pen and papers, others would pour them drinks or bring food, some would make sure the pillows the demons were sitting were comfortable enough or even adjust the lighting.

"I request immediate permission to speak!" Koga interrupted.

"No need to request permission, that's why we have those little servants. RYO! Make use of that voice and ask on behalf of Lord Koga permission to speak." Chika shouted at the little rat demon who spoke initially.

"Lady Chika, you know those youngsters have this habit of speaking directly instead of using their title and power. I have the same problem with my son Tai." Lord Takedo said.

"Just because some of you have over 300 years more than us, 'the youngsters', doesn't mean we're disrespectful or we don't acknowledge our power. We just like doing things directly and more straightforwardly than bothering with having someone speak for us." Tai replied eyeing Koga who nodded.

Lord Takedo and his son, Tai, were bear demons and were at least one head taller than everyone at the table. Takedo looked massive and imposing and had short brown hair with piercing black eyes. His son resembled him a lot, but you could tell he was younger and slightly smaller than his father, but still very powerful. He also had hazel eyes just as his mother who also was a bear demon. Tai was about 50 years or more younger than Koga and the only other demon in that council that was 'his age'.

"Lord Koga of the North request immediate permission to talk."

Suddenly, all the muttering or glaring stopped and everyone gathered around the table turned towards Koga, eyeing him with interest. Koga tried to ignore the involuntary feeling of dread that he felt upon seeing so many powerful (and even more powerful than him) demons looking at him expectantly. He usually didn't do much talking, others would, so this was his first time talking. He focused on the feeling of being part of this strong alliance and spoke with confidence:

"As we all know, the slayers are waiting for a reason to start the war with us and we've been preparing for them. The moment has come, the war has begun the minute I've more or less taken accidentally the head slayer's daughter as prisoner and I am sure they'll start to…"

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

"YOU ACCIDENTALLY HOW?!"

"YOUNGSTERS WILL BE YOUNGSTERS!?""

The room erupted in roars and all the composed demon nobility started to shout viciously. All the demonic power started to roam around the room, knocking on each other's and sparkling like electricity in the air. The poor little servant demons started to tremble and fear and hide in the shadows of the room waiting for the rage to subdue. They felt continuous shocks of demonic energy hitting them. Then the lights also went down and in the now dark room, loud growls and sparkling eyes were eyeing one another with anger.

"SILENCEEEEE!" Jiro shouted and his demonic power threw everyone off balance, sending their pillows from under them flying and the servants in the walls with a loud thud.

Jiro was a half elephant, half gorilla demon who came from two lines of very old and respected full demon families. Though he didn't look like, he was probably the oldest of all demons from the council. His appearance was of a 50-60 year old person. He had a long braided black hair and grey eyes. He hated humans and ate them now and then when they would wander too much into his territory or when he wanted to entertain himself and went human hunting.

"LIGHTS, MAKE LIGHTS!" He continued shouting.

The whole demon rage probably took less than 5 minutes, but it felt like an eternity for Koga who tried to stay strong and maintain his power up against the other demonic energies.

After Jiro ordered the lights, in less than a minute, the light was back up, all the lords, ladies and general back on their pillows and servants back to their duties as nothing actually happened. Koga exchanged a quick look with Tai who seemed as impressed as him by the quick change in the demeanour of the other demons.

"GOOD." Jiro nodded from his head and the other demons nodded in return. Then he lowered his voice to a normal tone and addressed Koga. "Now, Lord Koga, you were just sharing with us a very important information that I am sure everyone in the room would like to hear further details upon."

"Yes, thank you, Lord Jiro. As some of you might know, on my territory lives the infamous demon slayer village which has determined my pack and I to increase our guard and ally with Lord Yuuma and Lord Asa from the North West for extra protection for both our territories. But demon slayers patrol, yet not very far because they are aware we share the same territory and they're too careful to risk an unwanted attack. However, two went too far this time and we managed to capture them. One of them was the daughter of the village head."

"Why did they wander so far? Were they preparing a surprise attack? Is your pack OK?" Lady Mio asked mildly concerned, but more curious.

"Do you remember when we shared the human goods and I took under my protection the monk and slayer together with their family? The slayer has a brother and the brother works with the village head's daughter."

"That whole long connection gives me a headache. I bet the brother is also in love with the girl and that's why the fools wondered too far or something like that…needed some alone time from all the annoying other slayers." Mio commented earning some disgusting ew noises from other members of the council.

"Something like that…"

"Did you bring the girl?" Jiro asked.

"No. She's in my den. Last time she was still unconscious."

"I think we should eat her to make sure the slayers understand we don't fool around and if they want war, we'll give them PLENTY of war!" Lord Masao said annoyed.

"I think that would be foolish my dear and would just make the war worse. It's better keeping her as bait and prisoner." Lady Chika replied.

"We can always torture her and send her piece by piece to make the message loud and clear, but otherwise I agree with Lady Chika." Mio said.

"I think we should keep them in one piece for now and as leverage as much as possible. If the idiot wishes for war more than his daughter's life, we're killing her for nothing." Koga commented.

"Yeah, then she's good for nothing. I bet the slayer only wants a reason to start the war and his stupid daughter just provided him one. You may as well feed her to your wolves, Koga." Tai told him.

"No, no, don't make any harsh moves, let's keep her alive for now!" Takedo said.

"Let's just leave the prisoner in Koga's care and see how things evolve for now before voting a certain fate for this human's life. Koga, keep her alive, but we won't blame you if you take a bit or two or let your wolves play a bit with her. As long as she still breathes, she can lose a limb or two. Moving on to the next discussion. Anyone?" Jiro concluded.

"Lord Sesshomaru and Lord Masao want to discuss the ongoing surprise attacks from the slayers and their obvious intention of taking our human resources away." Ryo informed.

Sesshomaru eyed Masao and he started talking.

"Ever since the distribution of the human resources, the slayers have started to attack our humans. As we know from the last meeting, Lord Takedo lost his humans in the surprise attack and Lord Yuuma got his humans stolen. We mean a priest and priestess were killed and a priest and famous strategist of the land were stolen by the slayers. My human resources almost got stollen as well, but we managed to kill the slayers and safely take the priestess who is now working alongside my other priest, Haru. He is actually outside and working alongside Lady Mio's priest in creating a barrier to keep our whereabouts hidden from any praying eyes. Never mind that all this demonic energy would definitely be noticed and none of us want that. He has proven himself loyal so far and is under the supervision of Lord Asa's army. Sesshomaru's resources also got attacked…"

"This Sesshomaru has been misled in believing the slayers were attacking, so I've been away from them during the night. Upon my return, they seemed to have been killed…"

"SEEMED?! WAIT THEY'RE ALIVE?!" Koga shouted impatiently forgetting manners.

Everyone eyed Koga angrily. Takedo muttered another 'youngsters and manners' while Sesshomaru ignored him and continued.

"…but the priestess managed to defend herself and her family, so I took them away in my home where they will prove their use."

"I told you you should have just kidnapped them from the very beginning instead of leaving them there. Koga, you've done something similar, but from what you said, your human assets are now with you, right?" Lady Chika said, but upon seeing Koga's stunned face, she added: "Oh, where yours also attacked? Is your mate hurt?"

"Do you feel someone trying to get in?" Jiro joined in seeing Koga's distress.

"No, no, I, well, I excuse myself, just remembered something disturbing during the extraction of my own human resources. Nothing to worry now."

That seemed to please everyone and they moved into discussing about their current resources made by their priests and priestesses. Koga, however, was at war with his feelings. Where Kagome and Inuyasha alive? Did he hear well? He couldn't believe it. Was Sesshomaru bluffing? He needed to find out, but the meeting was still going and he was finding it harder and harder to focus. He did say Kagome saved them, but didn't she give birth? Something wasn't adding up and Koga knew from Miroku and Sango that Inuyasha was also vulnerable that night. Something wasn't adding up! However, Koga had to remind himself that he wasn't here just for himself, but for his pack too, so he made an effort to put his feelings for his friends aside, once again, and tapped into his cold demon attitude.

About an hour later…

"…and Lord Koga with Lord Yuuma will go with something like a piece of clothing from the head's daughter to the slayers and see if they are aware we have his daughter and depending on their reactions, we'll learn to what extent she is important to this war. Then, we'll know her degree of usefulness."

"She could always be used as a human asset because she knows well our enemy. Of course, she might not turn on her kind, but then we'll just have to kill her." Lady Chika added.

"Yes, that's true, but you know how distrustful humans can be." Jiro added and continued the meeting's conclusions. "Next meeting in two days, so we can discuss war battle strategies. Until then, Sesshomaru, please make sure all resources are available and we have a full list of everything we have.

Sesshomaru eyed Jaken who was writing madly everything down.

"The war is starting. Let us know if your resources behave and you have full permission to kill them if they're not acting accordingly. However, do consider that then you'll need a replacement and all the powerful human assets have already been given. Anything new, bring it up to the next meeting. Until then, stay hidden, vigilant and protect your packs and mates. Farewell!"

"Farewell!" Everyone chorused.

As soon as the chorus ended, Koga was next to Sesshomaru in an instant.

"Are Inuyasha and Kagome alive?"

"This Sesshomaru's assets and allies are this Sesshomaru's concern."

"You said Kagome saved them. But…" Koga lowered his voice. "She just gave birth, she was to weak and Inuyasha was on his human night. Leave your pride aside and tell me the truth. They got killed because you weren't there, right?"

In one swift motion, Koga found himself dangling with Sesshomaru's hand strangling his throat, his poisonous claws incredibly close to piercing his skin. Some of the still remaining demons eyed them with interest and suddenly decided to delay their leave for and watch the free entertainment.

"THIS SESSHOMARU WILL MAKE HIMSELF CLEAR ONCE, WOLF PRINCE AND I EXPECT YOU WILL FULLY USE YOUR BRAIN TO UNDERSTAND IT. This Sesshomaru has not lost his assets because THIS SESSHOMARU hasn't made any mistakes and his assets are powerful enough to take care of themselves. They are ALL breathing and under my protection, so their wellbeing and their whereabouts or anything else even remotely related to them is NONE of your concern. Did I make myself clear?"

Koga felt his skin being slowly pierced and started nodding, trying to catch his breath.

"Good. Your brain still works. Then MIND YOUR OWN FAMILY, PACK and assets. Farewell!" Sesshomaru said and threw him violently on the nearest wall making them room shake.

"Jaken, we're leaving. Farewell." Sesshomaru said addressing the remaining demons and then left.

Koga got up unsteadily from the lack of air and looked at the demons watching him. There was only Takedo, Tai, Lady Chika and Lord Masao. Lord Yuuma and Lord Asa signalled Koga they'll wait for him outside and left.

Koga was relieved to notice that he didn't get poisoned. Tai approached him and gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder.

"You sure know with whom to pick a fight. Koga, man, that's Sesshomaru, he's almost as powerful as Jiro and the most merciless of us all!"

"Don't forget he hates to answer questions that concern his family and he kills anyone who dares to question his morals." Lady Chika replied.

"Family? You asked him about his family?"

"Tai, keep up with those meetings, son, you're embarrassing me. Lord Sesshomaru's assets are his brother and his brother's mate, the half-demon and the priestess."

"Yes, yes, of course I know the famous duo who helped kill Naraku. And Koga here had their friends and Lord Masao and Lady Chika had their friend, the old priestess. I'm not stupid father, give me more credit. I just didn't make the connection instantly."

"Thank you for the recommendations everyone. I'm aware of Sesshomaru, I just acted carelessly."

"Indeed you did! Humour us and share with us why you're so interested in Sesshomaru's assets? Did your human assets agree to help in return of telling them about their friends?" Lady Chika asked intrigued.

"Ah, my dear, leave the boy breath and the gossip aside. Sesshomaru's right. We should mind our own business and only care about our packs. Though, Koga, don't let those humans push you around. They have kids, right? Threaten you'll eat one of them, see how fast that will make them behave."

"To be honest, I'm kind of friends with Sesshomaru's brother and the priestess and I was myself interested in their wellbeing."

"How cute, you're friends with a half-breed and a priestess. Did she make a spell on you? Demons and humans, no, no, demons and priestesses, that sure sounds out of a fairy tale I would love to hear more some other time." Lady Chika said eyeing Koga with interest.

"No, she was…"

"Mind your secrets boy, don't let the elders take everything out of you. But yeah, do check yourself, that priestess might be controlling you. I understand somehow how she ended up with a half-demon, but from that to controlling a full demon. Maybe we should warn Sesshomaru…" Takedo commented.

"Father, let him be. There's nothing wrong when demons like humans, some are quite attractive. Koga, you sure picked a unique one, she might purify you, I don't think it's a good idea continuing this friendship…"

"Shut up, son! We're at war with humans and you encourage human demon friendships?! These youngsters, oh, let's go, you're giving me a headache. Lord Koga, don't mind him and please, check yourself. And if you feel confident enough to face Sesshomaru again, do bring up this problem with the priestess to the next meeting. She might use this 'friendship control power' on Sesshomaru too."

"Your son is so fun, Takedo, I should invite both of them to our house, don't you think, dear?"

"Some other century, dear, we already have our hands full with the war and our own kids. Koga, mind your pack and keep your feelings in check. Humans make friends. Demons make alliances and build loyal relationships with them. You should only care about your pack and mate. I bet she wouldn't be pleased hearing you talking about a human priestess." Lord Masao said harshly.

"Hear, hear!" Takedo agreed.

Koga watched everyone leave. He knew they were right, but he valued his friendship with Kagome and Inuyasha. Knowing they were safe, however, was enough for him for now. And it should be for Miroku, Sango and Shippo too. He had other priorities for now and he should start focusing on them more. His pack, his mate, his business.

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**Thank you to everyone who took time to comment!** Greatly appreciated it and deeply sorry for such a late reply! This year's just been challenging and at times really hard, so thanks for your uplifting comments.

**Shoesarecool** Aww, thank you. They're cute, aren't they?!

**itzatakahashi** I do want to include some of these stories! They weren't in this chapter, but I plan to include some in future chapters :)

**Guest** Awww, thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

**Cstorm86** Yeah, Akira can't wait to tell everyone about her cute grumpy puppy and have someone chattier around. We'll see more of her and her stories in future chapters.

**Saraharista36** Aww, thank you so much for your kind words! I'm back, sorry for the delay!

**I'm Iseul** Hi! Glad you updated and you're loving it. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint either.


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